Neuroimage-Clinical最新文献

{"title":"Executive dysfunction relates to salience network desegregation in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia","authors":"Melanie A. Matyi ,&nbsp;Hamsanandini Radhakrishnan ,&nbsp;Christopher A. Olm ,&nbsp;Jeffrey S. Phillips ,&nbsp;Philip A. Cook ,&nbsp;Emma Rhodes ,&nbsp;James C. Gee ,&nbsp;David J. Irwin ,&nbsp;Corey T. McMillan ,&nbsp;Lauren Massimo","doi":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103853","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103853","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The organization of the brain into distinct networks increases (i.e., differentiation) during development and decreases (i.e., de-differentiation) during healthy aging, changes that are associated with improvements and worsening of cognition, respectively. Given that behavioral variant frontotemporal degeneration (bvFTD) is a neurodegenerative disease associated with executive dysfunction and selective vulnerability of the salience network, we tested the hypotheses that bvFTD structural networks are de-differentiated compared to cognitively normal controls (CNC) and that network de-differentiation relates to worse executive function.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>In a sample of 90 patients with bvFTD and 71 age-matched CNC with diffusion MRI data we generated probabilistic tractography maps and calculated system segregation, a metric that compares within-network to between-network connectivity, to reflect the extent to which brain networks were differentiated. Patients with bvFTD also completed tests of executive function (digit span backwards, phonemic fluency, category fluency) and a control task (lexical retrieval). We assessed group differences in system segregation, reflecting network differentiation, and, within bvFTD, associations between system segregation and neuropsychological test performance.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Compared to CNC, patients with bvFTD exhibited lower system segregation of the salience (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) and global brain network (<em>p</em> = 0.008). In bvFTD, lower salience network system segregation was associated with worse executive function (<em>p_corrected</em> = 0.021) but not lexical retrieval.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Results demonstrate associations between executive dysfunction and salience network de-differentiation in patients with bvFTD. Our findings indicate that brain network de-differentiation, reflecting reduced neural capacity for specialized processing, may contribute to the emergence of executive dysfunction in bvFTD.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54359,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage-Clinical","volume":"48 ","pages":"Article 103853"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144704780","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The relationship between balance and visuospatial attention on hemispheric stroke survivors: A study of egocentric and allocentric neural processing","authors":"Shijue Li ,&nbsp;Kai Li ,&nbsp;Ziyan Huang ,&nbsp;Zhenwen Liang ,&nbsp;Huaqing Chen ,&nbsp;Yongping Zheng ,&nbsp;Chuhuai Wang ,&nbsp;Qiuhua Yu ,&nbsp;Minghui Ding","doi":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103861","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103861","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Impaired balance and visuospatial attention are well-documented sequelae of stroke. However, the interplay between balance function and visuospatial attention, particularly within egocentric and allocentric reference frames, remains poorly understood.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between balance and visuospatial attention in stroke survivors with left- and right-hemisphere lesions and to investigate the underlying neural mechanisms.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Seventeen patients with right-hemisphere stroke, sixteen with left-hemisphere stroke, and eighteen age-matched healthy controls participated in this study. Balance function was evaluated using Prokin, while visuospatial attention was assessed through tasks involving egocentric and allocentric reference frames. In addition, event-related potentials of the P1, N1, and P2 components were measured during the attention tasks.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Patients with left-hemisphere stroke exhibited superior balance and visuospatial attention performance compared to those with right-hemisphere stroke. Balance function was positively correlated with both egocentric and allocentric visuospatial attention performance in left-hemisphere stroke survivors. Attenuated P1 amplitudes and enhanced P2 amplitudes were observed during allocentric processing in right-hemisphere stroke survivors. The P2 amplitude at the O2 electrode was positively associated with medio-lateral velocity, ellipse area, and perimeter during balance tasks in left-hemisphere stroke survivors.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Balance function is closely linked to selective attention and categorization processes in allocentric visuospatial tasks, particularly in patients with left-hemisphere stroke, suggesting that the right hemisphere may play an important role in mediating balance and visuospatial attention functions in the patients with mild to moderate stroke.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54359,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage-Clinical","volume":"48 ","pages":"Article 103861"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144831135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Atypical alpha oscillatory EEG dynamics in children with Angelman syndrome","authors":"Abigail H. Dickinson ,&nbsp;M.Sapphire Bowen-Kauth ,&nbsp;Jeremy J. Shide ,&nbsp;Anna E. Youngkin ,&nbsp;Nishitha S. Hosamane ,&nbsp;Courtney A. McNair ,&nbsp;Declan P. Ryan ,&nbsp;Catherine J. Chu ,&nbsp;Michael S. Sidorov","doi":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103865","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103865","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><div>Biomarkers of atypical brain development are crucial for advancing clinical trials and guiding therapeutic interventions in Angelman syndrome (AS). Electroencephalography (EEG) captures well-characterized developmental changes in peak alpha frequency (PAF) that reflect underlying neural circuit maturation and may provide a sensitive metric for mapping atypical neural trajectories in AS.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>We analyzed 159 EEG recordings from 95 children with AS (ages 1–15 years) and 185 age-matched typically developing (TD) controls. PAF was quantified using a well-established curve-fitting method applied to 1/f-corrected power spectra. To validate robustness, we further evaluated PAF using an alternative prominence-based peak detection approach across varying detection thresholds.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Significant disruptions in PAF were evident in children with AS. While over 90% of EEGs from TD children exhibited a clear alpha peak, fewer than 50% of EEGs from children with AS showed a detectable PAF. Furthermore, when PAF was present, its frequency was significantly lower in AS children and did not show the typical age-related increases observed in TD children. Validation analyses confirmed consistently lower rates of PAF detection in AS across varying sensitivity thresholds, demonstrating the robustness of these results.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The absence and lower frequency of alpha peaks in Angelman syndrome indicate that PAF is a developmentally sensitive marker of disrupted neural maturation in this population. Further research is needed to clarify how PAF emergence and shifts relate to longitudinal developmental trajectories and specific clinical phenotypes. Nonetheless, PAF shows promise as an objective, quantitative biomarker of neural circuit dynamics that can enhance clinical‐trial endpoints by indexing underlying brain function. Future analyses will examine inter‐individual variability in PAF among AS participants to uncover mechanistic pathways that may inform targeted therapeutic strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54359,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage-Clinical","volume":"48 ","pages":"Article 103865"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144908972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Medulla oblongata dominated synaptic density network degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis","authors":"Ting Zou ,&nbsp;Manliu Hou ,&nbsp;Honghao Han ,&nbsp;Xuyang Wang ,&nbsp;Huafu Chen ,&nbsp;Yongxiang Tang ,&nbsp;Rong Li ,&nbsp;Shuo Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103814","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103814","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a brain network disorder closely associated with synaptic loss in the upper and lower motor neurons. However, the <em>in vivo</em> synaptic network changes and their progressive processes remain unclear. Here, we aim to investigate the synaptic density network connectivity and the likely sequences of synaptic loss in patients with ALS.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We examined data from 21 patients diagnosed with ALS and 25 sex- and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) who underwent PET imaging with the SV2A radioligand [¹⁸F]SynVesT-1. The individual synaptic density similarity network was constructed for each patient by calculating the similarity between interregional synaptic density distributions. The synaptic network connectivity changes were investigated, followed by an examination of the local synaptic density in regions that showed significant network alterations. Finally, we constructed the voxel-wise and ROI-wise causal synaptic covariance network (cSCN) by applying Granger causality analysis. This allowed us to identify the sequence of synaptic loss in these brain regions.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We observed an overall decrease in synaptic density network connectivity in ALS patients compared to controls, with the highest nodal degree in the right medulla oblongata. Specifically, the reduced connections were dominantly between the medulla oblongata and the striatum, frontal lobe, occipital lobe, as well as between the striatum and the frontal lobe, occipital lobe. Furthermore, patients with ALS displayed significantly synaptic loss in those brain regions. The cSCN analyses showed that as the disease progresses, the cortical synaptic loss sequences of ALS extend from the medulla oblongata to the regions including the striatum, frontal lobe, occipital lobe, and parietal lobe.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>These findings suggest that synaptic density network degeneration in ALS may follow a bottom-up transmission pattern, primarily involving in the medulla oblongata-striatum-neocortex network, which have the potential to capture new network-based targets for clinical therapy in the progression of ALS.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54359,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage-Clinical","volume":"47 ","pages":"Article 103814"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144330066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A one year longitudinal study of cortical myelination changes following pediatric mild traumatic brain injury","authors":"Jessica R. McQuaid ,&nbsp;Tracey V. Wick ,&nbsp;Josef Ling ,&nbsp;Andrew B. Dodd ,&nbsp;Divyasree Sasi Kumar ,&nbsp;Upasana Nathaniel ,&nbsp;Samuel D. Miller ,&nbsp;Vadim Zotev ,&nbsp;Harm J. van der Horn ,&nbsp;John P. Phillips ,&nbsp;Richard A. Campbell ,&nbsp;Robert E. Sapien ,&nbsp;Timothy B. Meier ,&nbsp;Andrew R. Mayer","doi":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103837","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103837","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The impact of pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (pmTBI) on cortical (i.e., grey matter) myelination is not yet understood, especially for interactions with neurodevelopment. The current study examined the impact of pmTBI on cortical myelination relative to healthy controls (HC) by estimating myelin content using the T₁w/T₂w ratio method. Data were obtained from pmTBI (<em>N</em> = 217) participants at approximately 7 days (Visit 1 [V1]), 4 months (Visit 2 [V2]), and 1 year (Visit 3 [V3]) post-injury, with equivalent sampling points for age and sex-matched HC (<em>N</em> = 180). Clinical results suggested only partial recovery from post-concussive symptoms from V1 to V3, with similar incomplete recovery of sleep, functional outcomes, behavior, and long-term memory. Myelin content increased with chronological age and as a function of individual aging across study visits in a hemisphere specific fashion (left &gt; right), most visibly within the posterior parietal lobe. Myelin content was also greater for females relative to males. There was evidence of both a reduction in myelination within the posterior parietal cortex for the pmTBI group at 4 months post-injury, as well as evidence of increased myelination within the left prefrontal cortex at one-year post-injury. However, neither of these findings survived various sensitivity analyses, suggesting that there were minimal effects of pmTBI on cortical myelin content in general. In summary, although rapid changes in myelin content existed as a function of neurodevelopment, there was little evidence to suggest that pmTBI permanently altered cortical myelin development trajectories.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54359,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage-Clinical","volume":"48 ","pages":"Article 103837"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144604126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparison of thalamic atlases and segmentation techniques in defining motor and sensory nuclei for deep brain stimulation targeting in essential tremor","authors":"Mathew E. Zilberman ,&nbsp;Kelvin L. Chou ,&nbsp;Parag G. Patil ,&nbsp;Karlo A. Malaga","doi":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103887","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103887","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><div>Many thalamic atlases are available for deep brain stimulation (DBS) applications, but their usage and clinical validation vary. This study investigated the effectiveness of six atlases in DBS targeting for essential tremor (ET) through structural differences, impact of two thalamic segmentation methods, and correspondence with clinical outcomes via individualized tissue activation modeling.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>22 ET patients with unilateral VIM DBS were retrospectively analyzed. Volume of tissue activation (VTA) models were linked to tremor reduction (n = 22) and sustained paresthesia (n = 32). Six atlases were co-registered for pairwise comparison. Patient thalami were segmented using atlas-based segmentation (ABS) and diffusion tensor imaging-based segmentation (DTIBS). Geometric properties and VTA overlap with motor and sensory regions were statistically assessed.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Atlas comparisons revealed significant differences in motor and sensory subnuclei delineation (p &lt; 0.001). ABS generally produced larger motor and smaller sensory volumes than DTIBS, with both showing significant geometric variability. For therapeutic VTAs, ABS consistently showed greater motor activation across all atlases, while DTIBS demonstrated this in only half. Sensory activation was more often greater for paresthesia than therapeutic VTAs using ABS. The Jakab atlas showed the strongest correspondence with clinical outcomes using both segmentation methods.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Atlas choice and segmentation method can potentially influence DBS targeting accuracy. A segmentation approach that performs well with one atlas may not generalize to others, underscoring the need for clinical validation to evaluate applicability in surgical planning. DTIBS may enable more individualized targeting, but requires further refinement to consistently outperform traditional methods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54359,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage-Clinical","volume":"48 ","pages":"Article 103887"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145201934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Selective association of EEG microstates with clinical symptoms and mutation status in monogenic Alzheimer disease","authors":"Charlotte Johansson ,&nbsp;Thomas Koenig ,&nbsp;Una Smailovic ,&nbsp;Vanessa Hallström ,&nbsp;Vesna Jelic ,&nbsp;Caroline Graff","doi":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103879","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103879","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>EEG microstates are transient and short-lasting periods of stable scalp potential fields that are associated with disturbed temporal dynamics of large-scale brain networks, affected by early synaptic loss in Alzheimer disease (AD). We investigated changes in EEG microstates in presymptomatic (PMC) and symptomatic mutation carriers (SMC) compared to healthy non-carrier (NC) controls in families with autosomal dominant AD (ADAD). A total of 99 EEG recordings from 7 SMC, 17 PMC and 24 NC were selected from a Swedish ADAD cohort. Seven classes (A to G) of microstate topographical maps were fitted to their resting-state EEG. Next, microstate parameters of coverage (fraction of total recording time), duration (average time in milliseconds) and occurrence (frequency per second) of different topographical maps were assessed in repeated-measures analyses to compare differences between NC, PMC and SMC. Selective decreases in coverage of class B (SMC vs NC, p = 0.023) and class C (SMC vs PMC and NC, p = 0.017 and p = 0.004) were observed in symptomatic individuals. In contrast, mutation carriers had a decrease in coverage of class D (SMC and PMC vs NC, p = 0.015 and p = 0.001) and an increase in coverage of class E compared to controls (SMC and PMC vs NC, both p = 0.001). Thus, global brain network dynamics as described by EEG microstate classes were selectively affected in this cohort of monogenic AD, associated with either clinical symptoms (class B and C) or mutation status (class D and E). The latter suggests early mutation-related changes that are detectable already in the presymptomatic stages of disease.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54359,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage-Clinical","volume":"48 ","pages":"Article 103879"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association of quantitative susceptibility mapping signal in gray matter with clinical characteristics and aging-related MRI markers: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis","authors":"Susan R. Heckbert ,&nbsp;Paul N. Jensen ,&nbsp;Tanweer Rashid ,&nbsp;David H. Wang ,&nbsp;Colleen M. Sitlani ,&nbsp;Crystal G. Franklin ,&nbsp;Mariam Mojtabai ,&nbsp;Ana Navas-Acien ,&nbsp;Sokratis Charisis ,&nbsp;Alain Bertoni ,&nbsp;W.T. Longstreth Jr ,&nbsp;R.Nick Bryan ,&nbsp;Ilya M. Nasrallah ,&nbsp;Mohamad Habes","doi":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103884","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103884","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background and objectives</h3><div>In neuropathologic studies, iron accumulation in gray matter (GM) is associated with aging and specific neurological diseases, but less is known about its correlates in community-based populations.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>In the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, brain MRI was conducted in 2018–2019. To estimate iron content, we derived the median quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) signal from four regions: the basal ganglia and cortical GM of the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes. We examined cross-sectional associations with demographic and clinical characteristics, cognitive test performance, gait speed, and brain MRI measures of atrophy and small vessel disease.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We studied 943 participants (14 % Chinese, 25 % Black, 20 % Hispanic, 41 % White; mean age 74 years; 48 % men). In multivariable models, higher left basal ganglia QSM signal was associated with older age (7.2 ppb per 10 years; 95 %CI 4.6,9.9), smoking (7.1; 3.4,10.9), and diabetes (7.4; 2.5,12.3). Lower QSM signal was associated with Black race (−15.3; −20.6,-10, relative to White) and higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (−3.4 per 20 mg/dL; −5.8,-0.9). In cortical GM, QSM signal was associated with greater waist circumference, lifetime alcohol use, and log-transformed white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume (0.08–0.12 SD units per SD, all p ≤ 0.002), but not with cognitive test performance or gait speed.</div></div><div><h3>Discussion</h3><div>In cross-sectional analyses in a community-based cohort, older age, White race, smoking, diabetes, and greater WMH volume were associated with higher QSM signal in basal ganglia and/or cortical GM. Longitudinal studies are needed to further explore GM QSM signal in relation to cognition and gait in older individuals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54359,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage-Clinical","volume":"48 ","pages":"Article 103884"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145151848","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neural processing of social reciprocity in autism","authors":"Afton M. Bierlich ,&nbsp;Irene Sophia Plank ,&nbsp;Nanja T. Scheel ,&nbsp;Daniel Keeser ,&nbsp;Christine M. Falter-Wagner","doi":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103793","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103793","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Social reciprocity and interpersonal synchrony implicitly mediate social interactions to facilitate natural exchanges. These processes are altered in autism, but it is unclear how such alterations manifest at the neural level during social interaction processing. Using task-based fMRI, we investigated the neural correlates of interpersonal synchrony during basic reciprocal interactions in a preregistered study. Participants communicated with a virtual partner by sending visual signals. Analyses showed comparable activation patterns and experienced synchrony ratings between autistic and non-autistic participants, as well as between interactions with virtual partners who had high or low synchronous responses. An exploratory whole brain analysis for the effect of task revealed significant activation of the inferior frontal gyrus, insular cortex, and anterior inferior parietal lobe; areas associated with cognitive control, rhythmic temporal coordination, and action observation. This activation was independent of the virtual partner’s response synchrony and was similar for autistic and non-autistic participants. These results provide an initial look into the neural basis of processing social reciprocity in autism, particularly when individuals are part of an interaction, and hint that the neural processing of social reciprocity may be spared in autism when their partners’ behavior is predictable.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54359,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage-Clinical","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article 103793"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143891924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Abnormal structural covariance network in major depressive disorder: Evidence from the REST-meta-MDD project","authors":"Changmin Chen ,&nbsp;Yuhan Liu ,&nbsp;Yu Sun ,&nbsp;Wenhao Jiang ,&nbsp;Yonggui Yuan ,&nbsp;Zhao Qing ,&nbsp;DIRECT Consortium","doi":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103794","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103794","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common mental illness associated with brain morphological abnormalities. Although extensive studies have examined gray matter volume (GMV) changes in MDD, inconsistencies persist in reported findings. In the current study, we employed source-based morphometry (SBM) and structural covariance network (SCN) analyses to a large multi-center sample from the REST-meta-MDD database, aiming to characterize robust results of structural abnormalities in MDD.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We analyzed 798 MDD patients and 974 healthy controls (HCs) from the REST-meta-MDD consortium. Voxel-based morphometry was applied to generate GMV maps. SBM was used to adaptively parcellate brain into different components, and SCN was constructed based on SBM components. Volume scores in each component and SCNs between the components were both compared between MDD and HC groups, as well as between first-episode drug-naive (FEDN) and recurrent MDD subgroups.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>SBM identified 20 stable components. Three components encompassing the middle temporal gyrus, middle orbitofrontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus exhibited volumetric differences between the MDD and HC groups. Volume differences were observed in the cingulate cortex and medial frontal gyrus between the FEDN and recurrent groups. SCN analysis revealed 9 aberrant pairs in MDD vs. HCs, and 7 pairs in FEDN vs. recurrent groups. All aberrant component pairs in the SCN implicated the prefrontal cortex.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>These findings demonstrated brain structural deficits in MDD, and highlighted the prefrontal cortex as a central hub of SCN alterations. Our findings advance the understanding of MDD’s neural mechanisms and suggest directions for diagnostic research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54359,"journal":{"name":"Neuroimage-Clinical","volume":"46 ","pages":"Article 103794"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143907042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}