Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-06-04DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf132
Qi Zhang, Zimeng Li, Peng Zhao, Xuelai Liu, Zhe-Wu Jin
{"title":"Dissecting the shared genetic architecture of schizophrenia with ventricular subregion volumes.","authors":"Qi Zhang, Zimeng Li, Peng Zhao, Xuelai Liu, Zhe-Wu Jin","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf132","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf132","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Schizophrenia is characterized by cerebral ventricular enlargement as an early and consistent structural anomaly. While genetic factors significantly influence both schizophrenia and cerebral ventricular enlargement, the shared genetic etiology between them requires further investigation. Using summary statistics from recent large genome-wide association studies on schizophrenia and 9 ventricular subregion volumes phenotypes. Gaussian causal mixture modeling was applied to characterize the genetic architecture and overlap between schizophrenia and ventricular subregion volumes phenotypes. Local genetic correlation was investigated with Local Analysis of Variant Association. The conjunctional false discovery rate framework was used to identify the specific shared genetic loci, annotated with FUMA. Gaussian causal mixture modeling estimated schizophrenia to be more polygenic more polygenic (9574 trait-influencing variants) than ventricular subregion volumes phenotypes (157-1267 trait-influencing variants). Conjunctional false discovery rate analysis identified 42 shared genetic loci, 17 loci were identified as novel for both schizophrenia and the ventricular subregion volumes phenotypes. Local Analysis of Variant Association revealed that 11 distinct loci demonstrated significant differences, among which 4 loci were situated in the Major Histocompatibility Complex region. Annotated genes in shared loci were enriched in molecular signaling pathways involved in inflammation and the brain structure. The shared loci between them were annotated and enriched in Major Histocompatibility Complex and inflammation-related pathways, highlighting new opportunities for future investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144233307","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}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-06-04DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf130
Zhifeng Li, Bin Wang, Lan Yang, Yan Niu, Qin Luo, Shuo Zhao
{"title":"Structure-function connectomics reveals aberrant left hemispheric developmental trajectory in autism spectrum disorder.","authors":"Zhifeng Li, Bin Wang, Lan Yang, Yan Niu, Qin Luo, Shuo Zhao","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf130","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf130","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by structural and functional brain differences relative to typically developing individuals. Although previous work has identified abnormalities in rich-club (RC) organization and left-right asymmetry in ASD, the developmental trajectory of these anomalies remains unclear. In this study, we examined how age influences structure-function coupling and structural proportions in RC networks using data from 140 participants (aged 5-26 years) drawn from ABIDE II. Our findings revealed significant, age-related differences in the left hemisphere of ASD participants compared to controls, with the RC network predominantly localized in this region. Furthermore, an interaction effect in local RC organization-though not in global RC or feeder connections-was observed between diagnostic groups and brain lateralization. Notably, rightward lateralization in local RC networks increased with age in ASD individuals, whereas it decreased with age in controls. These results underscore an atypical, age-dependent pattern of hemispheric asymmetry in ASD and offer new insights into abnormal neurodevelopmental trajectories within RC organization.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144233311","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}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-06-04DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf131
Colleen Hughes, Roberto C French, Richard Betzel, Anne C Krendl
{"title":"Functional reconfiguration between rest and movie watching relates to theory-of-mind performance among young and older adults.","authors":"Colleen Hughes, Roberto C French, Richard Betzel, Anne C Krendl","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf131","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf131","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Functional connectivity among macroscale brain networks is minimally modified across rest and task states, suggesting a shared functional architecture supporting efficient neural processing. The extent of reconfiguration (ie change between states), moreover, shows individual variation, with less reconfiguration generally being associated with better task performance. Older adults reconfigure more than young adults when completing goal-directed tasks with known age deficits. Less is known about task states that more closely mirror the complexity of daily life. Thus, we examined reconfiguration between rest and passive viewing of a mockumentary television show, involving richly contextualized social interactions, among young (18 to 35 years; N = 101) and older (61 to 92 years; N = 83) adults. Then, we related reconfiguration to participants' accurate understanding of those social interactions (theory of mind) on a novel task conducted outside of the scanner. Consistent with prior work, older adults exhibited greater cortical reconfiguration and worse theory-of-mind performance compared to young adults. Greater reconfiguration related to worse theory-of-mind performance, and the default and frontoparietal networks most strongly contributed to this association. These findings provide greater insight into how reduced neural specializations with age disrupt social cognition even in the absence of an explicit task.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12141200/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144233308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-06-04DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf172
{"title":"Correction to: Impact of working memory training on brain network integration and neurotransmitter systems: a resting-state fMRI study.","authors":"","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf172","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf172","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144339923","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}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-06-04DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf141
Makoto Miyakoshi, Hyeonseok Kim, Lisa A De Stefano, Lauren M Schmitt, Jordan E Norris, Lauren E Ethridge, Craig A Erickson, Ernest V Pedapati
{"title":"Hyper-extralemniscal model of Fragile X syndrome.","authors":"Makoto Miyakoshi, Hyeonseok Kim, Lisa A De Stefano, Lauren M Schmitt, Jordan E Norris, Lauren E Ethridge, Craig A Erickson, Ernest V Pedapati","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf141","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf141","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Auditory hypersensitivity is a well-established phenotype of Fragile X syndrome (FXS), but how it relates to neurobehavioral biomarkers remains poorly understood. To offer an integrated model, we propose a dual thalamic framework with hypo-lemniscal (LEM) and hyper-extralemniscal (EXLEM) thalamic models. Traditional FXS studies may have been conflating LEM and EXLEM systems, misrepresenting the origins of the hypersensitivity. We hypothesize that hyper-EXLEM pathology impacts FXS symptoms more. To test this hypothesis, we first review the dual thalamic systems and then demonstrate the hypo-LEM and hyper-EXLEM models in individuals with FXS. We use a 40 Hz auditory steady-state response (ie LEM responses) paradigm with relatively long (1.5 to 3 s) stimulus and interstimulus intervals to evoke N1/P2 as Vertex Potentials (VPs, ie EXLEM responses) for onset and offset of the stimulus. We analyzed electroencephaogram (EEG) responses from 29 FXS and 33 healthy comparison individuals. Results showed lower intertrial coherence (ITC) in FXS, consistent with hypo-LEM predictions, and larger vertex potentials consistent with hyper-EXLEM predictions. Correlation analyses revealed that enhanced VPs classified FXS males more sensitively than ITC. These findings indicate that hyperreactivity of the EXLEM system is more dominantly related to FXS, which can provide a more accurate account for guiding diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12167856/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144301193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-06-04DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf158
Saskia Wilken, Adriana Böttcher, Christian Beste, Markus Raab, Sven Hoffmann
{"title":"The neural basis of sensorimotor expertise: investigating the role of theta oscillations and the superior parietal lobule using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS).","authors":"Saskia Wilken, Adriana Böttcher, Christian Beste, Markus Raab, Sven Hoffmann","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf158","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf158","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The study investigates the neural mechanisms underlying sensorimotor integration in motor experts (athletes in fast-paced sports), focusing on their enhanced ability to predict and adapt to dynamic movement patterns within the scope of the action emulation framework. Two experiments were conducted to examine these mechanisms. The first experiment compared experts and novices in a continuous tracking task, revealing that athletes displayed superior tracking performance, particularly on predictable trajectory segments. Electroencephalography (EEG) analysis identified distinct theta band oscillations between the groups. The source localization highlighted the superior parietal lobule (SPL) as a critical region associated with experts' enhanced motor prediction capabilities. The second experiment employed repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to inhibit SPL activity and explore its causal role in motor expertise. Results indicated that rTMS disrupted specific neural oscillations but did not significantly alter behavioral performance, suggesting compensatory mechanisms in functionally connected regions. Differences in theta and beta oscillations between experts and novices' post-stimulation highlight the adaptive neural plasticity underlying motor expertise. These findings contribute to our understanding of sensorimotor integration in expertise, reinforcing the role of feedforward modeling and predictive processing. This work advances our understanding of the neural substrates underlying high-level sensorimotor expertise.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144504947","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}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-06-04DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf135
Ricardo Muñoz-Arnaiz, Julia Makarova, Valeri A Makarov, Oscar Herreras
{"title":"Brain sources composing irregular field potentials have unique temporal signatures.","authors":"Ricardo Muñoz-Arnaiz, Julia Makarova, Valeri A Makarov, Oscar Herreras","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf135","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf135","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The prevailing irregular pattern of field potentials is little used due to the uncertain origin and identity of the source populations. After recovering clean source-specific dynamics (field potential-generators) in multiple brain areas of anesthetized rats we explored if they contain temporal identity features and to what extent they remain upon blending in the volume (raw field potentials). Relevant factors and mechanisms were further explored through a feed-forward model of field potentials. Signals were characterized with a multivariate set of statistical, spectral and nonlinear measures and explored with machine-learning classifiers. Despite the strong variability of electrographic patterns, field potential generators exhibit unique temporal signatures that allow their discrimination. Signatures are contained in 1 to 5 s segments in any given brain region and are robust across groups of animals. In contrast, the spatial overlap of sources and the contribution by remote potentials cause indeterminacy of raw field potentials, making them approach a noisy behavior. The so revealed source-specific signatures contain spectral and nonlinear features, thus overcoming the traditional notion of waves and frequency bands. We propose that besides upstream dynamics cytoarchitectural factors of the source population contribute to these unique signatures. These findings pave the way to utilize the vast reserve of information contained in irregular field potentials.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12163988/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144282553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-06-04DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf126
Lauren S Aulet, Caroline M Kaicher, Jessica F Cantlon
{"title":"Intersection of spatial and numerical cognition in the developing brain.","authors":"Lauren S Aulet, Caroline M Kaicher, Jessica F Cantlon","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf126","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf126","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Early mathematical development is thought to depend on visuospatial processing, yet neural evidence for this relationship in young children has been limited. We examined the neural mechanisms supporting numerical and visuospatial processing in 4- to 8-year-old children and adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), with three tasks: numerical matching, geometric shape matching, and number line estimation. We found that specialization for numerical and geometric processing in parietal cortex exists by 4-8 years of age, and that children exhibited greater conjunctive activation between numerical and geometric tasks throughout the parietal cortex compared to adults. During the number line task, children's neural activity significantly overlapped with activity from both number and geometric shape matching tasks, whereas adults' activity only overlapped with the number task. These findings provide the first neural evidence that number line estimation relies on both numerical and geometric processing in children, whereas it depends primarily on number-specific processing in adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12141198/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144233309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-06-04DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf145
Arnaud Cachia, Charlotte Dupont, Sarah Palmis, Iris Menu, Guillaume Auzias, Julien Sein, Olivier Coulon, Marieke Longcamp
{"title":"The sulcal patterns of the occipito-temporal and anterior cingulate cortices influence reading and writing in children and adults.","authors":"Arnaud Cachia, Charlotte Dupont, Sarah Palmis, Iris Menu, Guillaume Auzias, Julien Sein, Olivier Coulon, Marieke Longcamp","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf145","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf145","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study explores how the morphology of the left occipito-temporal sulcus and anterior cingulate cortex relates to reading and writing abilities. The occipito-temporal sulcus, which houses the visual word form area (VWFA), and the anterior cingulate cortex, involved in cognitive control, are key regions for literacy. Structural MRI scans from 38 children (aged 8 to 11) and 23 adults (aged 20 to 40) were analyzed to identify their sulcal patterns. Reading and writing (spelling and graphomotor) performance was assessed using standardized tests indexing both accuracy and speed. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that the left posterior occipito-temporal sulcus was associated with reading scores in both children and adults, and with graphomotor scores in children only. The anterior occipito-temporal sulcus and right hemisphere occipito-temporal sulcus also contributed to reading and writing outcomes. Anterior cingulate cortex asymmetry was linked to graphomotor performance in both age groups, highlighting its role in writing development. Since sulcal patterns are established prenatally and remain stable over time, the findings suggest that differences in literacy may partly originate from early brain development, alongside the neuroplastic effects of education and socioeconomic factors. This research underscores the interplay between early brain development, literacy, and the neuroplasticity shaped by learning experiences throughout life.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144324535","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}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-06-04DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf133
Sonja J Fenske, Janelle Liu, Haitao Chen, Marcio A Diniz, Rebecca L Stephens, Emil Cornea, John H Gilmore, Wei Gao
{"title":"Sex differences in brain-behavior relationships in the first 2 years of life.","authors":"Sonja J Fenske, Janelle Liu, Haitao Chen, Marcio A Diniz, Rebecca L Stephens, Emil Cornea, John H Gilmore, Wei Gao","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf133","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf133","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Evidence for sex differences in cognition in childhood is established, but less is known about the underlying neural mechanisms for these differences. Recent findings suggest the existence of brain-behavior relationship heterogeneities during infancy; however, it remains unclear whether sex underlies these heterogeneities during this critical period when sex-related behavioral differences arise. A sample of 316 infants was included with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans at neonate (3 weeks), 1 year and 2 years of age. We used multiple linear regression to test interactions between sex and resting-state functional connectivity on behavioral scores of working memory, inhibitory self-control, intelligence, and anxiety collected at 4 years of age. We found 6 age-specific, intra-hemispheric connections showing significant and robust sex differences in functional connectivity-behavior relationships. All connections are either with the prefrontal cortex or in regions with direct anatomical pathways to the prefrontal cortex. These sex differences in functional connectivity only emerge when associated with behavior and not in functional connectivity independently. Taken together, we capture robust and conserved brain mechanisms that are distinct to sex and are defined by their relationship to behavioral outcomes. Our results establish brain-behavior mechanisms as an important feature in the search for sex differences during development.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12146512/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144246649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}