Flexible statistical modelling detects clinical functional magnetic resonance imaging activation in partially compliant subjects

Clinical functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) occasionally fails to detect significant activation, often due to variability in task performance. The present study seeks to test whether a more flexible statistical analysis can better detect activation, by accounting for variance associated with variable compliance to the task over time. Experimental results and simulated data both confirm that even at 80% compliance to the task, such a flexible model outperforms standard statistical analysis when assessed using the extent of activation (experimental data), goodness of fit (experimental data), and area under the operator characteristic curve (simulated data). Furthermore, retrospective examination of 14 clinical fMRI examinations reveals that in patients where the standard statistical approach yields activation, there is a measurable gain in model performance in adopting the flexible statistical model, with little or no penalty in lost sensitivity. This indicates that a flexible model should be considered, particularly for clinical patients who may have difficulty complying fully with the study task.     

Long-duration transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation alters small-world brain functional networks

Acupuncture, which is recognized as an alternative and complementary treatment in Western medicine, has long shown efficiencies in chronic pain relief, drug addiction treatment, stroke rehabilitation and other clinical practices. The neural mechanism underlying acupuncture, however, is still unclear. Many studies have focused on the sustained effects of acupuncture on healthy subjects, yet there are very few on the topological organization of functional networks in the whole brain in response to long-duration acupuncture (longer than 20 min). This paper presents a novel study on the effects of long-duration transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on the small-world properties of brain functional networks. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to construct brain functional networks of 18 healthy subjects (9 males and 9 females) during the resting state. All subjects received both TEAS and minimal TEAS (MTEAS) and were scanned before and after each stimulation. An altered functional network was found with lower local efficiency and no significant change in global efficiency for healthy subjects after TEAS, while no significant difference was observed after MTEAS. The experiments also showed that the nodal efficiencies in several paralimbic/limbic regions were altered by TEAS, and those in middle frontal gyrus and other regions by MTEAS. To remove the psychological effects and the baseline, we compared the difference between diffTEAS (difference between after and before TEAS) and diffMTEAS (difference between after and before MTEAS). The results showed that the local efficiency was decreased and that the nodal efficiencies in frontal gyrus, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus and hippocampus gyrus were changed. Based on those observations, we conclude that long-duration TEAS may modulate the short-range connections of brain functional networks and also the limbic system.     

The bilingual brain: Flexibility and control in the human cortex

The goal of the present review is to discuss recent cognitive neuroscientific findings concerning bilingualism. Three interrelated questions about the bilingual brain are addressed: How are multiple languages represented in the brain? how are languages controlled in the brain? and what are the real-world implications of experience with multiple languages? The review is based on neuroimaging research findings about the nature of bilingual processing, namely, how the brain adapts to accommodate multiple languages in the bilingual brain and to control which language should be used, and when. We also address how this adaptation results in differences observed in the general cognition of bilingual individuals. General implications for models of human learning, plasticity, and cognitive control are discussed.     

以功能性核磁共振造影初探10Hz调制激光针灸刺激所引发人类大脑皮质的活化现象(英文)

使用10 Hz调制的低功率激光针灸刺激探究大脑皮质反应.以功能性核磁共振造影技术探讨当激光针灸刺激左脚涌泉穴(K1)时,大脑可能产生的反应机制.研究发现调制激光针灸所引发显著的大脑活化反应,包括右额叶中央前回、右额叶上回、左额叶中央前回、左顶叶中央后回、左侧下部顶叶、左小脑舌前叶、左海马旁回和左小脑山顶等区域.安慰剂组实验并没有发现在脑部有任何活化反应,大多数反应区域所涉及功能与记忆、注意力及自我意识等有关联.结果显示出调制激光针灸的大脑血液动力学反应,并隐含此反应机制不只是依据传入感觉信息处理,而且还有着随外部刺激的变化而有所改变的血液动力学性质.     

脑卒中后椎体束华勒变性的功能磁共振研究

目的应用扩散张量与磁共振波谱技术,对急性脑卒中患者进行分析,探讨其反映患者病情变化的价值.方法取一侧脑卒中患者26例,健康志愿者30例.在常规扫描后再进行DTI,MRS扫描,采用NIHSS和BI评分评价患者功能,并定期复查.分析患者梗死病灶、大脑脚ADC值、FA值及MRS的代谢产物数值变化.结果 1）病灶FA值低于正常值,与NIHSS呈正相关,与BI呈负相关.脑干FA值减小,提示神经纤维出现华勒变性;2）病灶NAA下降,低于正常侧,P〈0.01;病灶侧Cr,Cho较正常侧改变不明显,P〉0.05;大脑脚NAA 1个月后降低.结论对脑卒中患者进行DTI与MRS扫描,能较早反映患者病情严重程度,还能判断预后,并指导临床康复治疗.     

Involvement of the crebellum in sequential finger movement learning： Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging

Whether the cerebellum is involved in voluntary motor learning or motor performance is the subject of a new debate. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）, we examined cerebellar activation in eight voluntecrs before and after an extended period of training. Activation volume on both sides of cerebellum after learning was significantly reduced compared to that before learning even under the same motor frequency. Remarkably, while motor frequency for the training sequence was significantly higher than the control sequence after 41 d of learning, activation in the cerebellum for both sequences, with respect to activation loci and volumes, was very similar. These results suggest that the cerebellum was involved in motor learning but not motor performance. Changes of cerebellar activation from training thus appear to be associated with learning but not with improvement on task performance.     

Mean mutual information ratio: a new method for ranking components of ICA

This paper aims to develop a more robust measure of independency called mean mutual information ratio and propose a new way for ranking components with this measure. In order to evaluate the advantage of mean mutual information ratio, independent component analysis has been performed on task-related and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data. And then, mean mutual information ratio was compared to kurtosis in ranking components. The result demonstrated that mean mutual information ratio gives more accurate and robust measure of independency.     

5HTTLPR predicts left fusiform gyrus activation to positive emotional stimuli

This study was designed to replicate and extend past research examining the impact of the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5HTTLPR) on neural activation during emotional processing. Six women with at least one short allele were compared to six age-matched women with long/long alleles of the 5HTTLPR. Participants were shown 36 positive and 36 negative slides from the International Affective Picture Set, while functional images were acquired using a 4-T magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Although we were unable to replicate past research demonstrating relatively increased amygdala activation among individuals with an "s" allele to negative stimuli, women with an s allele evidenced decreased left fusiform gyrus activation to positive emotional stimuli (as expected). We suggest that women with a short allele may be either less attentive or less "expert" with regard to positive emotional stimuli, and ideas for future research are presented.     

Sources of functional magnetic resonance imaging signal fluctuations in the human brain at rest: a 7 T study

Signal fluctuations in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can result from a number of sources that may have a neuronal, physiologic or instrumental origin. To determine the relative contribution of these sources, we recorded physiological (respiration and cardiac) signals simultaneously with fMRI in human volunteers at rest with their eyes closed. State-of-the-art technology was used including high magnetic field (7 T), a multichannel detector array and high-resolution (3 mm³) echo-planar imaging. We investigated the relative contribution of thermal noise and other sources of variance to the observed fMRI signal fluctuations both in the visual cortex and in the whole brain gray matter. The following sources of variance were evaluated separately: low-frequency drifts due to scanner instability, effects correlated with respiratory and cardiac cycles, effects due to variability in the respiratory flow rate and cardiac rate, and other sources, tentatively attributed to spontaneous neuronal activity. We found that low-frequency drifts are the most significant source of fMRI signal fluctuations (3.0% signal change in the visual cortex, TE=32 ms), followed by spontaneous neuronal activity (2.9%), thermal noise (2.1%), effects due to variability in physiological rates (respiration 0.9%, heartbeat 0.9%), and correlated with physiological cycles (0.6%). We suggest the selection and use of four lagged physiological noise regressors as an effective model to explain the variance related to fluctuations in the rates of respiration volume change and cardiac pulsation. Our results also indicate that, compared to the whole brain gray matter, the visual cortex has higher sensitivity to changes in both the rate of respiration and the spontaneous resting-state activity. Under the conditions of this study, spontaneous neuronal activity is one of the major contributors to the measured fMRI signal fluctuations, increasing almost twofold relative to earlier experiments under similar conditions at 3 T.     

Neurophysiological and functional MRI evidence of reorganization of cortical motor areas in cerebral arteriovenous malformation

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research has shown that brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) lead to reorganization of cortical motor areas. Since it is known that blood oxygenation level-dependent signal in fMRI may be influenced by the hemodynamic perturbation associated with the presence of the AVM, in the present study, a combined exploration with fMRI and transcranial magnetic stimulation was performed in a patient with a right rolandic AVM in order to explore the relationship between neuronal and hemodynamic activity. The combined protocol of investigation adopted in this study was able to provide significant information regarding neuronal activity of the different cortical areas that partake to post-lesional reorganization.