MRI classification of progressive supranuclear palsy, Parkinson disease and controls using deep learning and machine learning algorithms for the identification of regions and tracts of interest as potential biomarkers.

Background: Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis has shown promise in differentiating neurodegenerative Parkinsonian syndromes and has significantly advanced our understanding of diseases like progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in recent years.

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop, implement and compare MRI analysis algorithms based on artificial intelligence (AI) that can differentiate PSP not only from healthy controls but also from Parkinson disease (PD), by analyzing changes in brain structure and microstructure. Specifically, this study focused on identifying regions of interest (ROIs) and tracts of interest (TOIs) that are crucial for the algorithms to provide clinically relevant performance indices for the distinction between disease variants.

Reward is not reward: Differential impacts of primary and secondary rewards on expectation, outcome, and prediction error in the human brain's reward processing regions.

According to their nature, rewarding stimuli are classified as primary (e.g., food, sex) and secondary (e.

Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) in Neuroradiological Diagnostics - Methodological Overview and Use Cases.

Background: Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based technique using labeled blood-water of the brain-feeding arteries as an endogenous tracer to derive information about brain perfusion. It enables the assessment of cerebral blood flow (CBF).

Method: This review aims to provide a methodological and technical overview of ASL techniques, and to give examples of clinical use cases for various diseases affecting the central nervous system (CNS).

Parkinson's disease or multiple system atrophy: potential separation by quantitative susceptibility mapping.

Background: Due to the absence of robust biomarkers, and the low sensitivity and specificity of routine imaging techniques, the differential diagnosis between Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) is challenging. High-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) opened up new possibilities regarding the analysis of pathological alterations associated with neurodegenerative processes. Recently, we have shown that quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) enables visualization and quantification of two major histopathologic hallmarks observed in MSA: reduced myelin density and iron accumulation in the basal ganglia of a transgenic murine model of MSA.

Role of the right anterior insula for the emergence of flow-A combined task-based fMRI activation and connectivity study.

The emergence of flow is a situation of high salience because externally oriented attention on the task and access to resources for goal-directed behavior are enhanced, while internally oriented or self-related cognition is decreased. The right anterior insula has been reported as a causal out-flow hub of the salience resting-state network, orchestrating the engagement of the central executive network (CEN) and the disengagement of the default-mode network (DMN) during a functional challenge. In the present study, we employed a combined task-based activation and connectivity analysis to investigate the role of the right anterior insula during the emergence of flow.

Methylphenidate Differentially Affects Intrinsic Functional Connectivity of the Salience Network in Adult ADHD Treatment Responders and Non-Responders.

Positron emission tomography (PET) studies have shown involvement of the striatum when treating adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with methylphenidate (MPH). Results from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) for the same issue were less unequivocal. Here, a new analytical framework was set up to investigate medication effects using seed-based rs-fMRI analysis to infer brain regions with alterations in intrinsic functional connectivity (IFC) corresponding with ADHD symptom reduction.

Lower fractional anisotropy of the corticothalamic tract and increased response time variability in adult patients with ADHD.

Background: Intraindividual intertrial variability has been suggested as an endophenotype of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is usually evaluated as response time variability (RTV) in reaction time tasks, and RTV has emerged as a robust and stable feature of ADHD. Among attempts to elucidate the neurobiological underpinnings of RTV, it has been suggested that alterations in white matter microstructure may explain RTV.

FAAH polymorphism (rs324420) modulates extinction recall in healthy humans: an fMRI study.

Gold standard treatments for anxiety- and trauma-related disorders focus on exposure therapy promoting extinction learning and extinction retention. However, its efficacy is limited. Preclinical and particularly animal research has been able to demonstrate that homozygosity for the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) C385A allele, similar to FAAH inhibition, is associated with elevated concentrations of anandamide (AEA) and facilitates extinction learning and extinction recall.

Direct voluntary control of pupil constriction and dilation: Exploratory evidence from pupillometry, optometry, skin conductance, perception, and functional MRI.

We present a single case who can change pupil size on command with dilation of pupil diameter of around 0.8 mm, and constriction of around 2.4 mm.

Neural signatures of bullying experience and social rejection in teenagers.

Relational bullying in schools is one of the most frequent forms of violence and can have severe negative health impact, e.g. depression.

Fear extinction learning and anandamide: an fMRI study in healthy humans.

Anxiety- and trauma-related disorders are severe illnesses with high prevalence. Current treatment options leave room for improvement and the endocannabinoid system (ECS) has become a key target in psychopharmacological research. Rodent models suggest an anxiolytic effect of endocannabinoids and demonstrated that the ECS is involved in the modulation of fear learning and aversive memory consolidation.

Serotonergic, Dopaminergic, and Noradrenergic Modulation of Erotic Stimulus Processing in the Male Human Brain.

Human sexual behavior is mediated by a complex interplay of cerebral and spinal centers, as well as hormonal, peripheral, and autonomic functions. Neuroimaging studies identified central neural signatures of human sexual responses comprising neural emotional, motivational, autonomic, and cognitive components. However, empirical evidence regarding the neuromodulation of these neural signatures of human sexual responses was scarce for decades.

Adolescent depression and brain development: evidence from voxel-based morphometry.

Background: Investigating adolescents and young adults may provide a unique opportunity to understand developmental aspects of the neurobiology of depression. During adolescence, a considerable physiologic reorganization of both grey and white matter of the brain takes place, and it has been suggested that differences in grey-matter volumes during adolescence may reflect different maturational processes.

Methods: We investigated grey-matter volumes in a comparatively large sample (n = 103) of adolescents and young adults (aged 12 to 27 years), 60 of them with a diagnosis of current depression.

The neural correlates of flow experience explored with transcranial direct current stimulation.

The experience of flow ensues when humans engage in a demanding task while task demands are balanced with the individual's level of skill or ability. Here, we further tested the hypothesis that the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) plays a causal role in mediating flow experience using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to interfere with MPFC's deactivation evoked by a flow paradigm and measured by magnetic resonance (MR)-based perfusion imaging. In a balanced, within-subjects repeated measure design, three treatments of tDCS (sham, anodal, cathodal) were applied in a sample of 22 healthy male participants.

Glucose Modulates Human Ventral Tegmental Activity in Response to Sexual Stimuli.

Background: Attribution of salience to sexual stimuli is mediated by the dopaminergic midbrain, including the ventral tegmental area (VTA). The existence of glucose-sensing neurons in the VTA, as suggested by animal studies, offers the opportunity to modulate aberrant salience coding involved in sexual disorders such as sexual addiction. Recent neuroimaging work supported that VTA activity in humans can be modulated by intravenously infusing a small bolus of glucose.

Theta-burst modulation of mid-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex affects salience coding in the human ventral tegmental area.

In the context of hedonic (over-)eating the ventral tegmental area (VTA) as a core part of the dopaminergic reward system plays a central role in coding incentive salience of high-caloric food. In the present study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate whether transcranial magnetic theta-burst stimulation (TBS) over the right mid-ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (mid-VLPFC) can induce modulation of calorie-sensitive brain activation in the VTA. The prefrontal location for TBS had been predetermined by seed-based resting-state fMRI with a functionally defined portion of the VTA serving as seed region obtained from an independent second fMRI experiment.

Noradrenergic modulation of neural erotic stimulus perception.

We recently investigated neuromodulatory effects of the noradrenergic agent reboxetine and the dopamine receptor affine amisulpride in healthy subjects on dynamic erotic stimulus processing. Whereas amisulpride left sexual functions and neural activations unimpaired, we observed detrimental activations under reboxetine within the caudate nucleus corresponding to motivational components of sexual behavior. However, broadly impaired subjective sexual functioning under reboxetine suggested effects on further neural components.

Effects of a brief cognitive behavioural therapy group intervention on baseline brain perfusion in adolescents with major depressive disorder.

A number of neuroimaging studies have identified altered regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) related to major depressive disorder (MDD) in adult samples, particularly in the lateral prefrontal, cingular and temporal regions. In contrast, neuroimaging investigations in adolescents with MDD are rare, although investigating young patients during a significant period of brain maturation might offer valuable insights into the neural mechanisms of MDD. We acquired perfusion images obtained with continuous arterial spin labelling in 21 medication-naive adolescents with MDD before and after a five-session cognitive behavioural group therapy (group CBT).

Intact sensory-motor network structure and function in far from onset premanifest Huntington's disease.

Structural and functional changes attributable to the neurodegenerative process in Huntington's disease (HD) may be evident in HTT CAG repeat expansion carriers before the clinical manifestations of HD. It remains unclear, though, how far from motor onset a consistent signature of the neurodegenerative process in HD can be detected. Twelve far from onset preHD and 22 age-matched healthy control participants underwent volumetric structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and resting-state functional MRI (11 preHD, 22 controls) as well as electrophysiological measurements (12 preHD, 13 controls).

The neuropsychology of first impressions: Evidence from Huntington's disease.

Impairments of emotion recognition have been widely documented in Huntington's disease (HD), but little is known concerning how these relate to other aspects of social cognition, including first impressions of traits such as trustworthiness and dominance. Here, we introduce a novel and sensitive method to investigate the ability to evaluate trustworthiness and dominance from facial appearance, with control tasks measuring ability to perceive differences between comparable stimuli. We used this new method together with standard tests of face perception to investigate social cognition in HD.

Dorsal Raphe Nucleus Down-Regulates Medial Prefrontal Cortex during Experience of Flow.

Previous neuroimaging studies have suggested that the experience of flow aligns with a relative increase in activation of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN), and relative activation decreases of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and of the amygdala (AMY). In the present study, Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) was used to explore effective connectivity between those brain regions. To test our hypothesis that the DRN causally down-regulates activity of the MPFC and/or of the AMY, 23 healthy male students solved mental arithmetic tasks of varying difficulty during functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Neural signature of the Food Craving Questionnaire (FCQ)-Trait.

The Trait and State versions of the Food Craving Questionnaire (FCQ) have been used in numerous behavioral and physiological eating studies. However, the neurobiological signature of the FCQ has not been reported yet. In the present study, 20 healthy male participants performed a food/non-food discrimination task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Glucose modulates food-related salience coding of midbrain neurons in humans.

Although early rat studies demonstrated that administration of glucose diminishes dopaminergic midbrain activity, evidence in humans has been lacking so far. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study, glucose was intravenously infused in healthy human male participants while seeing images depicting low-caloric food (LC), high-caloric food (HC), and non-food (NF) during a food/NF discrimination task. Analysis of brain activation focused on the ventral tegmental area (VTA) as the origin of the mesolimbic system involved in salience coding.