White matter alterations in glaucoma and monocular blindness differ outside the visual system.

The degree to which glaucoma has effects in the brain beyond the eye and the visual pathways is unclear. To clarify this, we investigated white matter microstructure (WMM) in 37 tracts of patients with glaucoma, monocular blindness, and controls. We used brainlife.

Intra- and interscanner variability of magnetic resonance imaging based volumetry in multiple sclerosis.

Brain volumetric measurements in multiple sclerosis (MS) reflect not only disease-specific processes but also other sources of variability. The latter has to be considered especially in multicenter and longitudinal studies. Here, we compare data generated by three different 3-Tesla magnetic resonance scanners (Philips Achieva; Siemens Verio; GE Signa MR750).

Neurodegeneration beyond the primary visual pathways in a population with a high incidence of normal-pressure glaucoma.

Purpose: Glaucoma is the most common age-related neurodegenerative eye disease in western society. It is an insidious disease that, when untreated or detected too late, leads inevitably to blindness. An outstanding issue is whether glaucoma should be considered exclusively an eye disease or also a brain disease.

Mindful attention to breath regulates emotions via increased amygdala-prefrontal cortex connectivity.

Mindfulness practice is beneficial for emotion regulation; however, the neural mechanisms underlying this effect are poorly understood. The current study focuses on effects of attention-to-breath (ATB) as a basic mindfulness practice on aversive emotions at behavioral and brain levels. A key finding across different emotion regulation strategies is the modulation of amygdala and prefrontal activity.

Mindfulness is associated with intrinsic functional connectivity between default mode and salience networks.

Mindfulness is attention to present moment experience without judgment. Mindfulness practice is associated with brain activity in areas overlapping with the default mode, salience, and central executive networks (DMN, SN, CEN). We hypothesized that intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC; i.

Visual imagery and functional connectivity in blindness: a single-case study.

We present a case report on visual brain plasticity after total blindness acquired in adulthood. SH lost her sight when she was 27. Despite having been totally blind for 43 years, she reported to strongly rely on her vivid visual imagery.

Spinal cord atrophy in early Huntington's disease.

Despite evidence for spinal cord involvement, it remains unclear whether spinal cord atrophy exists in early Huntington's disease. We studied magnetic resonance images, covering both brain and upper cervical cord, in two cohorts of Huntington's patients and in one cohort of Alzheimer's patients. All cohorts included healthy controls comparable with regard to age and gender.

Atrophy and structural variability of the upper cervical cord in early multiple sclerosis.

Background: Despite agreement about spinal cord atrophy in progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), data on clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) and relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) are conflicting.

Objective: To determine the onset of spinal cord atrophy in the disease course of MS.

Methods: Structural brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was acquired from 267 patients with CIS (85) or RRMS (182) and 64 healthy controls (HCs).

Brain size and white matter content of cerebrospinal tracts determine the upper cervical cord area: evidence from structural brain MRI.

Introduction: Measurement of the upper cervical cord area (UCCA) from brain MRI may be an effective way to quantify spinal cord involvement in neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis. However, knowledge on the determinants of UCCA in healthy controls (HCs) is limited.

Methods: In two cohorts of 133 and 285 HCs, we studied the influence of different demographic, body-related, and brain-related parameters on UCCA by simple and partial correlation analyses as well as by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) across both cerebral gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM).

White-matter lesions drive deep gray-matter atrophy in early multiple sclerosis: support from structural MRI.

Background: In MS, the relationship between lesions within cerebral white matter (WM) and atrophy within deep gray matter (GM) is unclear.

Objective: To investigate the spatial relationship between WM lesions and deep GM atrophy.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study (3 Tesla) in 249 patients with clinically-isolated syndrome or relapsing-remitting MS (Expanded Disability Status Scale score: median, 1.

Automated morphometry of the visual pathway in primary open-angle glaucoma.

Purpose: To establish whether primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is associated with a change in volume of the visual pathway structures between the eyes and the visual cortex.

Methods: To answer this question, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used in combination with automated segmentation and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Eight patients with POAG and 12 age-matched control subjects participated in the study.

Changes in cortical grey matter density associated with long-standing retinal visual field defects.

Retinal lesions caused by eye diseases such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration can, over time, eliminate stimulation of parts of the visual cortex. This could lead to degeneration of inactive cortical neuronal tissue, but this has not been established in humans. Here, we used magnetic resonance imaging to assess the effects of prolonged sensory deprivation in human visual cortex.

Occipital proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) reveals normal metabolite concentrations in retinal visual field defects.

Background: Progressive visual field defects, such as age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma, prevent normal stimulation of visual cortex. We investigated whether in the case of visual field defects, concentrations of metabolites such as N-acetylaspartate (NAA), a marker for degenerative processes, are reduced in the occipital brain region.

Methodology/principal Findings: Participants known with glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (the two leading causes of visual impairment in the developed world), and controls were examined by proton MR spectroscopic ((1)H-MRS) imaging.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging of brightness induction in the human visual cortex.

A grey surface on a bright background appears to be darker than the same surface on a dark background. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study this phenomenon called brightness induction. While being scanned, participants viewed centre-surround displays in which either centre or surround luminance was modulated in time.

Visual stimulation, 1H MR spectroscopy and fMRI of the human visual pathways.

The purpose was to assess changes in lactate content and other brain metabolites under visual stimulation in optical chiasm, optic radiations and occipital cortex using multiple voxel MR spectroscopy (MRS). 1H chemical shift imaging (CSI) examinations of transverse planes centered to include the above structures were performed in four subjects at an echo time of 135 ms. Functional MRI (fMRI) was used to confirm the presence of activity in the visual cortex during the visual stimulation.