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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

A rapid algorithm for robust and automatic extraction of the midsagittal plane of the human cerebrum from neuroimages based on local symmetry and outlier removal.

A rapid algorithm for robust, accurate, and automatic extraction of the midsagittal plane (MSP) of the human cerebrum from normal and pathological neuroimages is proposed. The MSP is defined as a plane formed from the interhemispheric fissure line segments having the dominant orientation. The algorithm extracts the MSP in four steps: (1) determine suitable axial slices for processing, (2) localize the fissure line segments on them, (3) select inliers from the extracted fissure line segments through histogram-based outlier removal, and (4) calculate the equation of the MSP from the selected inliers. The fissure line segments are localized by minimizing the local symmetry index characterizing anatomical properties of images in the vicinity of the interhemispheric fissure. A two-stage angular and distance outlier removal is introduced to handle abnormalities. The algorithm has been validated quantitatively with 125 structural MRI and CT cases from 10 centers on three continents by studying its accuracy; tolerance to rotation, noise, asymmetry, and bias field; sensitivity to parameters; and performance. A statistical relationship between algorithm accuracy and the data's adherence to planarity is also determined. The algorithm extracts the MSP below 6 s on Pentium 4 (2.4 GHz) with the average angular and distance errors of (0.40 degrees; 0.63 mm) for normal and (0.59 degrees; 0.73 mm) for pathological cases. The robustness to noise, asymmetry, rotation, and bias field is achieved by extracting the MSP based on the dominant orientation and local symmetry index. A low computational cost results from applying simple operations capturing intrinsic anatomic features, constraining the searching space to the local vicinity of the interhemispheric fissure, and formulating a noniterative algorithm with a coarse and fine fixed-step searching. In comparison to the existing methods, our algorithm is much faster, performs accurately and robustly for a wide range of diversified data, and is fully automatic and thoroughly validated, which make it suitable for clinical applications.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Deformation tensor morphometry of semantic dementia with quantitative validation.

High-resolution structural MRI scans of 20 subjects diagnosed with semantic dementia were compared against scans of 20 cognitively normal control subjects using whole brain deformation tensor morphometry to study spatially consistent differences in local anatomical size. A fine lattice free-form volume registration algorithm was used to estimate a continuous mapping from a reference MRI to each individual subject MRI. The Jacobian of these transformations at each voxel were used to quantitatively map relative anatomical size in each individual brain. Intensity consistent filtering was applied to the determinant of these Jacobians. A careful validation using manually traced gyral anatomy was carried out and used to select an optimal deformation tensor filter scale at which to examine the anatomical size maps. General linear modeling at each voxel was used to decompose the influence of age and head size from the primary diagnosis. Maps of the T statistic of the diagnosis across the 40 subjects highlighted significant (P < 0.01 Bonferroni corrected) focal tissue contraction effects related to dementia diagnosis in the left temporal pole extending into the hippocampus, occipitotemporal gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus. Some evidence of greater focal contraction in gray over white matter was also apparent. Contraction effects were also seen, but with reduced significance in the right temporal anatomy, focused toward the temporal pole and hippocampal regions. Additional lower significance findings (P < 0.05 permutation corrected) were detected in the left superior frontal gyrus, left orbital gyrus and left parietal lobe.

Aged↗

fMRI temporal clustering analysis in patients with frequent interictal epileptiform discharges: comparison with EEG-driven analysis.

Temporal clustering analysis (TCA) is an exploratory data-driven technique that has been proposed for the analysis of resting fMRI to localise epileptiform activity without need for simultaneous EEG. Conventionally, fMRI of epileptic activity has been limited to those patients with subtle clinical events or frequent interictal epileptiform EEG discharges, requiring simultaneous EEG recording, from which a linear model is derived to make valid statistical inferences from the fMRI data. We sought to evaluate TCA by comparing the results with those of EEG correlated fMRI in eight selected cases. Cases were selected with clear epileptogenic localisation or lateralisation on the basis of concordant EEG and structural MRI findings, in addition to concordant activations seen on EEG-derived fMRI analyses. In three, areas of activation were seen with TCA but none corresponding to the electro-clinical localisation or activations obtained with EEG driven analysis. Temporal clusters were closely coincident with times of maximal head motion. We feel this is a serious confound to this approach and recommend that interpretation of TCA that does not address motion and physiological noise be treated with caution. New techniques to localise epileptogenic activity with fMRI alone require validation with an appropriate independent measure. In the investigation of interictal epileptiform activity, this is best done with simultaneous EEG recording.

Cluster Analysis↗

A Population-Average, Landmark- and Surface-based (PALS) atlas of human cerebral cortex.

This report describes a new electronic atlas of human cerebral cortex that provides a substrate for a wide variety of brain-mapping analyses. The Population-Average, Landmark- and Surface-based (PALS) atlas approach involves surface-based and volume-based representations of cortical shape, each available as population averages and as individual subject data. The specific PALS-B12 atlas introduced here is derived from structural MRI volumes of 12 normal young adults. Accurate cortical surface reconstructions were generated for each hemisphere, and the surfaces were inflated, flattened, and mapped to standard spherical configurations using SureFit and Caret software. A target atlas sphere was generated by averaging selected landmark contours from each of the 24 contributing hemispheres. Each individual hemisphere was deformed to this target using landmark-constrained surface registration. The utility of the resultant PALS-B12 atlas was demonstrated using a variety of analyses. (i) Probabilistic maps of sulcal identity were generated using both surface-based registration (SBR) and conventional volume-based registration (VBR). The SBR approach achieved markedly better consistency of sulcal alignment than did VBR. (ii) A method is introduced for 'multi-fiducial mapping' of volume-averaged group data (e.g., fMRI data, probabilistic architectonic maps) onto each individual hemisphere in the atlas, followed by spatial averaging across the individual maps. This yielded a population-average surface representation that circumvents the biases inherent in choosing any single hemisphere as a target. (iii) Surface-based and volume-based morphometry applied to maps of sulcal depth and sulcal identity demonstrated prominent left-right asymmetries in and near the superior temporal sulcus and Sylvian fissure. Moreover, shape variability in the temporal lobe is significantly greater in the left than the right hemisphere. The PALS-B12 atlas has been registered to other surface-based atlases to facilitate interchange of data and comparison across atlases. All data sets in the PALS-B12 atlas are accessible via the SumsDB database for online and offline visualization and analysis.

Adolescent↗

76-space analysis of grey matter diffusivity: methods and applications.

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) allow in vivo investigation of molecular motion of tissue water at a microscopic level in cerebral gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM). DWI/DTI measure of water diffusion has been proven to be invaluable for the study of many neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) that predominantly involve GM. Thus, quantitative analysis of GM diffusivity is of scientific interest and is promised to have a clinical impact on the investigation of normal brain aging and neuropathology. In this paper, we propose an automated framework for analysis of GM diffusivity in 76 standard anatomic subdivisions of gray matter to facilitate studies of neurodegenerative and other gray matter neurological diseases. The computational framework includes three enabling technologies: (1) automatic parcellation of structural MRI GM into 76 precisely defined neuroanatomic subregions ("76-space"), (2) automated segmentation of GM, WM and CSF based on DTI data, and (3) automatic measurement of the average apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in each segmented GM subregion. We evaluate and validate this computational framework for 76-space GM diffusivity analysis using data from normal volunteers and from patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Adult↗

Progressive grey matter atrophy over the first 2-3 years of illness in first-episode schizophrenia: a tensor-based morphometry study.

Little is known about the structural brain changes that occur over the first few years of schizophrenia, or how these changes differ from those associated with healthy brain development in adolescence and early adulthood. In this study, we aimed to identify regional differences in grey matter (GM) volume between patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) and matched healthy controls, both at the time of the patients' first psychotic episode (baseline condition) and 2-3 years subsequently (follow-up condition). Forty-one patients with FES and 47 matched healthy controls underwent a T1-weighted structural MRI scan. Of these participants, 25 FES patients and 26 controls returned 2-3 years later for a follow-up scan. Voxel-based morphometry in SPM2 was used to identify the regions of GM difference between the groups in the baseline condition, while tensor-based morphometry was used to identify the longitudinal change within subject over the follow-up interval. The FES patients exhibited widespread GM reductions in the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortices and cerebellum in the baseline condition, as well as more circumscribed regions of GM increase, particularly in the occipital lobe. Furthermore, the FES subjects were observed to lose considerably more GM over the follow-up interval than the controls, especially in the parietal and temporal cortices. We argue that the progressive GM atrophy we have found to be associated with the onset of schizophrenia arises from a dysfunction in the dramatic period of healthy brain development typically associated with adolescence.

Adolescent↗

Visuospatial deficits in patients with early left-hemispheric lesions and functional reorganization of language: consequence of lesion or reorganization?

INTRODUCTION: Patients with early left-hemispheric lesions have repeatedly been reported to show spared language functions (which are then mediated by the right hemisphere), but exhibit deficits in visuospatial functions. The "crowding hypothesis" explains these deficits by a neuronal scarcity in the right hemisphere for the original right hemispheric functions. An alternative hypothesis suggests direct lesion effects as the sole reason for the visuospatial impairments. The scope of this study was to examine the relations between visuospatial skills and hemispheric preference for language, and between visuospatial skills and cerebral lesion size. METHODS: In a sample of young adults with pre- or perinatally acquired focal lesions of the left hemisphere and unilateral spastic cerebral palsy on the right side, we assessed intelligence and neuropsychological functions in the verbal and visuospatial domains. The behavioural data was correlated with structural MRI information and language preference as assessed using fMRI. RESULTS: Patients with right hemispheric language production were impaired in visuospatial functions, compared not only to normal controls, but also to patients without right hemispheric language preference. Additionally, the degree of right hemispheric language correlated negatively with performance in visuospatial tasks. Lesion size correlated negatively only with performance IQ, which again correlated negatively with motor impairment of the patients and thus does not seem to reflect true cognitive deficits. CONCLUSION: Visuospatial deficits in patients with early left-hemispheric lesions are a consequence of lesion-induced right hemispheric language organization, thus lending further support to the "crowding hypothesis".

Adolescent↗

Parahippocampal gyrus in first episode psychotic disorders: a structural magnetic resonance imaging study.

Neuropathological abnormalities in schizophrenia have been demonstrated in the parahippocampal gyrus (PHG). Only a few studies on first-episode neuroleptic-naive schizophrenia patients have been done using in vivo neuroimaging techniques. The authors examined the PHG morphology using structural MRI in neuroleptic-naive subjects with first episode psychoses. Volumetric measurements of PHG and intracranial volume (ICV) were obtained on subjects with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders (SCZ; n = 33), nonschizophrenia psychotic disorders (NSCZ; n = 11) and matched healthy subjects (HS; n = 43). The subjects were rated on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Group differences and clinical correlations of ICV-adjusted PHG volumes were examined. Left PHG was significantly different across the groups consisting of SCZ, NSCZ and HS. PHG was larger in NSCZ compared to SCZ but not relative to HS. Bilaterally, PHG was no different between SCZ and HS. In pooled psychotic patients, the PHG volume negatively correlated with total positive symptom, delusion and conceptual disorganization scores on BPRS. Patients with delusions had relatively smaller PHG compared to nondelusional subjects. Observed differences in PHG volume in first-episode neuroleptic-naive patients suggest that these observations are not confounded by illness chronicity or medication effects. Significant association of PHG volume with psychotic symptoms suggests that PHG pathology plays an important role in the etiopathology of psychosis and its symptoms.

Adult↗

Automated ROI-based brain parcellation analysis of frontal and temporal brain volumes in schizophrenia.

Structural MRI studies of schizophrenia have yielded a diversity of findings. To help characterize regional gray matter changes in schizophrenia, we used an automated region of interest (ROI)-based approach that targeted frontal and temporal regions in schizophrenia patients. The sample compromised 43 schizophrenia patients (21 chronic patients, 22 unmedicated first episode patients), 20 first episode non-schizophrenia psychosis patients and 47 comparison subjects. Automated regional volume measurement was performed in 22 ROIs, including frontal and temporal cortical subregions and hippocampus. Correlations between volume measures, duration of illness and clinical scores were evaluated. Chronic schizophrenia patients showed gray matter volume differences in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and right supplementary motor area (SMA). First episode psychosis patients presented smaller right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and left DLPFC than comparison subjects. Disorganization scores and duration of illness correlated negatively with gray matter volume of DLPFC and SMA in chronic schizophrenia patients. Using an automated ROI-based method, we found volume reductions in lateral and medial frontal regions in both first episode and chronic schizophrenia. The automated ROI-based method can be used as a valid and efficient tool for quantification of regional gray matter volume in schizophrenia in multiple ROIs across the brains of large numbers of subjects.

Adult↗

Globus pallidus volume is related to symptom severity in neuroleptic naive patients with schizophrenia.

This study compares globus pallidus (GP) volume between neuroleptic naive patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls using structural MRI. The volume of the external segment of the GP (GPe) was positively correlated with the severity of global symptoms, as measured by the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms and Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SANS/SAPS, Andreasen and Olsen, 1982). The volume for the GP, GPe, and internal segment (GPi) did not differ between groups.

Adult↗

Classification of adolescent psychotic disorders using linear discriminant analysis.

BACKGROUND: The differential diagnosis between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder during adolescence presents a major clinical problem. Can these two diagnoses be differentiated objectively early in the courses of illness? METHODS: We used linear discrimination analysis (LDA) to classify 28 adolescent subjects into one of three diagnostic categories (healthy, N=8; schizophrenia, N=10; bipolar, N=10) using subsets from a pool of 45 variables as potential predictors (22 neuropsychological test scores and 23 quantitative structural brain measurements). The predictor variables were adjusted for age, gender, race, and psychotropic medication. All possible subsets composed of k=2-12 variables, from the set of 45 variables available, were evaluated using the robust leaving-one-subject-out method. RESULTS: The highest correct classification (96%) of the 3 diagnostic categories was yielded by 9 sets of k=12 predictors, comprising both neuropsychological and brain structural measures. Although each one of these sets misclassified one case, each set correctly classified (100%) at least one group, such that a fully correct diagnosis could be reached by a tree-type decision procedure. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that LDA with 12 predictor variables can provide correct and robust classification of subjects into the three diagnostic categories above. This robust classification relies upon both neuropsychological and brain structural information. Our results demonstrate that, despite overlapping clinical symptoms, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be differentiated early in the course of disease. This finding has two important implications. Firstly, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are different illnesses. If schizophrenia and bipolar are dissimilar clinical manifestations of the same disease, we would not be able to use non-clinical information to classify ('diagnose') schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Secondly, if this study's findings are replicated, brain structure (MRI) and brain function (neuropsychological) used together may be useful in the diagnosis of new patients.

Adolescent↗

Neuroanatomic substrates of sex differences in language dysfunction in schizophrenia: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: This pilot study investigated whether our previous findings of disrupted normal sexual brain dimorphisms in language-associated regions in schizophrenia were linked with our previously reported sex differences in language dysfunction in schizophrenia. METHOD: Nineteen adults with schizophrenia and 15 normal comparisons were tested on phonology, semantics and grammar and underwent structural MRI. RESULTS: Among males, left hippocampal and left planum temporale (PT) abnormalities were associated with phonological, semantic and grammar deficits, accounting for 17-52% and 27-33%, respectively, of variance in diagnostic group differences. Anterior cingulate gyrus was significantly associated with semantics. Among females, right Heschl's Gyrus (HG) and left PT were significantly associated with phonology, right HG with semantics and grammar and right hippocampus with semantics. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings suggest disrupted sexual brain dimorphisms in schizophrenia are associated with sex-specific language deficits, and left hippocampal abnormalities, in particular, contribute to language dysfunction among men. Abnormalities in right cortical temporal regions showed stronger associations with language dysfunction among females.

Adolescent↗

Ventral extra-striate cortical areas are required for optimal orientation averaging.

We examined the ability of a previously well-studied patient with visual agnosia to compute the average orientation of elements in visual displays. In a structural MRI study, we show that the lesion is likely to involve a variety of ventral extra-striate areas, including V2, V3 and V4; however, the lesion does not extend dorsally. Subsequently we show that some ability to compute average orientation is spared, though there are limitations on the ability to scale the averaging process as a function of the numbers of elements. The results suggest that some aspects of orientation averaging can be accomplished in spared regions of V1 but flexible averaging requires ventral extra-striate cortex.

Aged, 80 and over↗

Thalamic metabolic rate predicts EEG alpha power in healthy control subjects but not in depressed patients.

BACKGROUND: EEG alpha power has been demonstrated to be inversely related to mental activity and has subsequently been used as an indirect measure of brain activation. The hypothesis that the thalamus serves as a neuronal oscillator of alpha rhythms has been supported by studies in animals, but only minimally by studies in humans. METHODS: In the current study, PET-derived measures of regional glucose metabolism, EEG, and structural MRI were obtained from each participant to assess the relation between thalamic metabolic activity and alpha power in depressed patients and healthy controls. The thalamus was identified and drawn on each subject's MRI. The MRI was then co-registered to the corresponding PET scan and metabolic activity from the thalamus extracted. Thalamic activity was then correlated with a 30-min aggregated average of alpha EEG power. RESULTS: Robust inverse correlations were observed in the control data, indicating that greater thalamic metabolism is correlated with decreased alpha power. No relation was found in the depressed patient data. CONCLUSIONS: The results are discussed in the context of a possible abnormality in thalamocortical circuitry associated with depression.

Adult↗

Measuring and modifying abnormal social cognition in frontal variant frontotemporal dementia.

We describe a 57-year-old man (MW) with frontal variant frontotemporal dementia (fv-FTD) who presented with a long history of drinking problem and marital disharmony followed by gradual changes in personality with disinhibition, stereotypic checking, overeating and a decline in self-care. Structural MRI imaging confirmed marked frontal atrophy involving particularly the ventromedial region. Performance on standard tests of frontal executive function was largely unremarkable and MW obtained a perfect score on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). In contrast, an experimental battery of tasks designed to evaluate theory of mind (ToM) revealed marked deficits. MW's challenging and disruptive behaviours, notably obsessive checking of car suspension by rocking, and wandering, responded to behavioural modification regimes adapted from the neurorehabilitation literature. In conclusion, deficits in ToM may underline the gross abnormalities in social conduct, which characterise fv-FTD; ToM appears to dissociate from frontal executive function; and behavioural modification approaches can be of benefit in this disorder.

Dementia↗

Differential involvement of the hippocampus and temporal lobe cortices in rapid and slow learning of new semantic information.

The present study examined the rapid and slow acquisition of new semantic information by two patients with differing brain pathology. A partial double dissociation was found between the patterns of new learning shown by these two patients. Rapid acquisition was impaired in a patient (YR) who had relatively selective hippocampal damage, but it was unimpaired in another patient (JL) who, according to structural MRI, had an intact hippocampus but damage to anterolateral temporal cortex accompanied by epileptic seizures. Slow acquisition was impaired in both patients, but was impaired to a much greater extent in JL. The dissociation suggests that the mechanisms underlying rapid and slow acquisition of new semantic information are at least partially separable. The findings indicate that rapid acquisition of semantic, as well as episodic information, is critically dependent on the hippocampus. However, they suggest that hippocampal processing is less important for the gradual acquisition of semantic information through repeated exposure, although it is probably necessary for normal levels of such learning to be achieved.

Adult↗

Cortical network dynamics during verbal working memory function.

This study is an exploratory investigation of the regional timing of cortical activity associated with verbal working memory function. ERP activity was obtained from a single subject using a 124-channel sensor array during a task requiring the monitoring of imageable words for occasional targets. Distributed cortical activity was estimated every 2.5 ms with high spatial resolution using real head, boundary element modelling of non-target activity. High-resolution structural MRI was used for segmentation of tissue boundaries and co-registration to the scalp electrode array. The inverse solution was constrained to the cortical surface. Cortical activity was observed in regions commonly associated with verbal working memory function. This included: the occipital pole (early visual processing); the superior temporal and inferior parietal gyrus bilaterally and the left angular gyrus (visual and phonological word processing); the dorsal lateral occipital gyrus (spatial processing); and aspects of the bilateral superior parietal lobe (imagery and episodic verbal memory). Activity was also observed in lateral and superior prefrontal regions associated with working memory control of sensorimotor processes. The pattern of cortical activity was relatively stable over time, with variations in the extent and amplitude of contributing local source activations. By contrast, the pattern of concomitant scalp topography varied considerably over time, reflecting the linear summation effects of volume conduction that often confound dipolar source modelling.

Adult↗

Gliomatosis cerebri: clinical, neurochemical and neuroradiological response to temozolomide administration.

Gliomatosis cerebri is a rare form of diffusely infiltrating glioma that is typically resistant to conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy and carries a poor prognosis. Temozolomide has shown antineoplastic activity against malignant gliomas and more recently was beneficial in one patient with gliomatosis cerebri. To make an objective assessment of the effect of long-term temozolomide administration in a patient with gliomatosis cerebri we used brain proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and structural MRI. A 46-year-old man with gliomatosis cerebri was treated with temozolomide (200 mg/m(2) per day for 5 days every 28 days). Twenty cycles of temozolomide resulted in a marked reduction in choline and scyllo-inositol content, as detected using brain proton MR spectroscopy, indicating reduced tumor cellularity and/or growth rate. Neurochemical improvements were associated with normalization of the signal intensity in most of the previously affected cerebral regions and regression of mass effect on MRI. A left pyramidal syndrome, present at the start of the treatment, disappeared. Our observation lends support to larger clinical trials evaluating the use of temozolomide to treat this brain tumor.

Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating↗