Quantitative magnetization transfer and g-ratio imaging of white matter myelin in early psychotic spectrum disorders.

Myelin abnormalities in white matter have been implicated in the pathophysiology of psychotic spectrum disorders (PSD), which are characterized by brain dysconnectivity as a core feature. Among evidence from in vivo MRI studies, diffusion imaging findings have largely supported disrupted white matter integrity in PSD; however, they are not specific to myelin changes. Using a multimodal imaging approach, the current study aimed to further delineate myelin and microstructural changes in the white matter of a young PSD cohort.

Microstructural and Microvascular Alterations in Psychotic Spectrum Disorders: A Three-Compartment Intravoxel Incoherent Imaging and Free Water Model.

Background And Hypothesis: Microvascular and inflammatory mechanisms have been hypothesized to be involved in the pathophysiology of psychotic spectrum disorders (PSDs). However, data evaluating these hypotheses remain limited.

Study Design: We applied a three-compartment intravoxel incoherent motion free water imaging (IVIM-FWI) technique that estimates the perfusion fraction (PF), free water fraction (FW), and anisotropic diffusion of tissue (FAt) to examine microvascular and microstructural changes in gray and white matter in 55 young adults with a PSD compared to 37 healthy controls (HCs).

Development of an MMPI reference group for outpatients with persisting symptoms following mild TBI.

Objective: To develop an MMPI-2-RF reference group for persistently symptomatic patients with mTBI in order to aid interpretation and better evaluate atypical scale elevations.

Method: Using the Q Local MMPI-2-RF Comparison Group Generator (CGG), 200 valid MMPI-2-RF profiles were aggregated for mTBI outpatients with persisting symptoms 2-24 months post injury.

Results: Compared to established MMPI general population norms, individuals with persisting symptoms demonstrated elevations on several scales, primarily in cognitive and somatic domains.

Decreased basal ganglia and thalamic iron in early psychotic spectrum disorders are associated with increased psychotic and schizotypal symptoms.

Iron deficits have been reported as a risk factor for psychotic spectrum disorders (PSD). However, examinations of brain iron in PSD remain limited. The current study employed quantitative MRI to examine iron content in several iron-rich subcortical structures in 49 young adult individuals with PSD (15 schizophrenia, 17 schizoaffective disorder, and 17 bipolar disorder with psychotic features) compared with 35 age-matched healthy controls (HC).

Quantitative Macromolecular Proton Fraction Mapping Reveals Altered Cortical Myelin Profile in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders.

Myelin abnormalities have been reported in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) in white matter. However, examinations of cortical myeloarchitecture in SSD, especially those using quantitative measures, are limited. Here, we employed macromolecular proton fraction (MPF) obtained from quantitative magnetization transfer imaging to characterize intracortical myelin organization in 30 SSD patients versus 34 healthy control (HC) participants.

Art therapy for Parkinson's disease.

Objective: To explore the potential rehabilitative effect of art therapy and its underlying mechanisms in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: Observational study of eighteen patients with PD, followed in a prospective, open-label, exploratory trial. Before and after twenty sessions of art therapy, PD patients were assessed with the UPDRS, Pegboard Test, Timed Up and Go Test (TUG), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Modified Fatigue Impact Scale and PROMIS-Self-Efficacy, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (RCFT), Benton Visual Recognition Test (BVRT), Navon Test, Visual Search, and Stop Signal Task.

Interrelationships Between Post-TBI Employment and Substance Abuse: A Cross-lagged Structural Equation Modeling Analysis.

Objective: To describe the interrelationship of postinjury employment and substance abuse (SA) among individuals with traumatic brain injury.

Design: Structural equation model (SEM) and logistic regression analytic approach using a merged database of the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) and Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems (TBIMS) National Database, with acute care and rehabilitation hospitalization data and 1, 2, and 5 year follow-up data.

Setting: United States Level I/II trauma centers and inpatient rehabilitation centers with telephone follow-up.

Reliability and Construct Validity of the TBI-QOL Communication Short Form as a Parent-Proxy Report Instrument for Children With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the internal consistency and construct validity of the Traumatic Brain Injury Quality of Life Communication Item Bank (TBI-QOL COM) short form as a parent-proxy report measure. The TBI-QOL COM is a patient-reported outcome measure of functional communication originally developed as a self-report measure for adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI), but it may also be valid as a parent-proxy report measure for children who have sustained TBI. Method One hundred twenty-nine parent-proxy raters completed the TBI-QOL COM short form 6 months postinjury as a secondary aim of a multisite study of pediatric TBI outcomes.

Altered topological characteristics of morphological brain network relate to language impairment in high genetic risk subjects and schizophrenia patients.

Objective: Evidence suggests relationships between abnormalities in various cortical and subcortical brain structures and language dysfunction in individuals with schizophrenia, and to some extent in those with increased genetic risk for this diagnosis. The topological features of the structural brain network at the systems-level and their impact on language function in schizophrenia and in those at high genetic risk has been less well studied.

Method: Single-subject morphological brain network was constructed in a total of 71 subjects (20 patients with schizophrenia, 19 individuals at high genetic risk for schizophrenia, and 32 controls).

Rehabilitation Trajectories and Outcomes in Individuals With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychiatric Histories: A TRACK-TBI Pilot Study.

Objective: To determine differences in rehabilitation trajectories and return to work (RTW) and social outcomes in individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) with and without significant psychiatric histories at index hospitalization.

Setting: Three level 1 trauma centers participating in the Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury (TRACK-TBI) consortium.

Participants: A total of 305 individuals with index mTBI enrolled in the TRACK-TBI pilot project.

Unmet Rehabilitation Needs After Hospitalization for Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objectives: In this study, we describe unmet service needs of children hospitalized for traumatic brain injury (TBI) during the first 2 years after injury and examine associations between child, family, and injury-related characteristics and unmet needs in 6 domains (physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, mental health services, educational services, and physiatry).

Methods: Prospective cohort study of children age 8 to 18 years old admitted to 6 hospitals with complicated mild or moderate to severe TBI. Service need was based on dysfunction identified via parent-report compared with retrospective baseline at 6, 12, and 24 months.

Characteristics of Firearm Brain Injury Survivors in the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems (TBIMS) National Database: A Comparison of Assault and Self-Inflicted Injury Survivors.

Objective: To characterize and compare subgroups of survivors with assault-related versus self-inflicted traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) via firearms at the time of inpatient rehabilitation and at 1-, 2-, and 5-year follow-up.

Design: Secondary analysis of data from the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems National Database (TBIMS NDB), a multicenter, longitudinal cohort study.

Setting: Retrospective analyses of a subset of individuals enrolled in the TBIMS NDB.

Psychometric evaluation of the pediatric and parent-proxy Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System and the Neurology and Traumatic Brain Injury Quality of Life measurement item banks in pediatric traumatic brain injury.

Purpose: The primary objective is to provide evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the pediatric and parent-proxy versions of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Peer Relations, Mobility, Pain Interference, and Fatigue item banks, the Neurology Quality of Life measurement system (Neuro-QOL) Cognition-General Concerns and Stigma item banks, and the Traumatic Brain Injury Quality of Life (TBI-QOL) Executive Function and Headache item banks in a pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) sample.

Methods: Participants were 134 parent-child (ages 8-18 years) days. Children all sustained TBI and the dyads completed outcome ratings 6 months after injury at one of six medical centers across the United States.

Subcortical structure alterations impact language processing in individuals with schizophrenia and those at high genetic risk.

Objective: Cortical structural and functional anomalies have been found to associate with language impairments in both schizophrenia patients and genetic high risk individuals for developing schizophrenia. However, subcortical structures that contribute to language processing haven't been well studied in this population, and thus became the main objective of this study.

Method: We examined structural MRI data from 20 patients with schizophrenia, 21 individuals at genetic high risk, and 48 controls.

Measuring positive affect and well-being after spinal cord injury: Development and psychometric characteristics of the SCI-QOL Positive Affect and Well-being bank and short form.

Objective: To develop an item response theory (IRT)-calibrated spinal cord injury (SCI)-specific Positive Affect and Well-being (PAWB) item bank with flexible options for administration.

Design: Qualitative feedback from patient and provider focus groups was used to expand on the Neurological Disorders and Quality of Life (Neuro-QOL) positive affect & well-being item bank for use in SCI. New items were created and revised based on expert review and patient feedback and were then field tested.

Positive psychology in rehabilitation medicine: a brief report.

Background: The field of positive psychology has grown exponentially within the last decade. To date, however, there have been few empirical initiatives to clarify the constructs within positive psychology as they relate to rehabilitation medicine. Character strengths, and in particular resilience, following neurological trauma are clinically observable within rehabilitation settings, and greater knowledge of the way in which these factors relate to treatment variables may allow for enhanced treatment conceptualization and planning.

Anxiety as a primary predictor of functional impairment after acquired brain injury: a brief report.

Objective: Cognitive and emotional symptoms are primary causes of long-term functional impairment after acquired brain injury (ABI). Although the occurrence of post-ABI emotional difficulties is well-documented, most investigators have focused on the impact of depression on functioning after ABI, with few examining the role of anxiety. Knowledge of the latter's impact is essential for optimal treatment planning in neurorehabilitation settings.

Unique topology of language processing brain network: a systems-level biomarker of schizophrenia.

Objective: Schizophrenia is a severe and heritable brain disorder. Language impairment has been hypothesized to spur its onset and underlie the characteristic symptoms. In this study, we investigate whether altered topological pattern of the language processing brain network exists and could be a potential biomarker of schizophrenia.

Structural abnormalities in language circuits in genetic high-risk subjects and schizophrenia patients.

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder with a strong genetic predisposition. Structural and functional brain deficits throughout the cerebral cortex, particularly in the language-processing associated brain regions, are consistently reported. Recently, increasing evidence from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies suggests that healthy relatives of schizophrenia patients also show structural brain abnormalities in cortical gray matter (GM) volume and thickness, suggesting that this may be associated with an unexpressed genetic liability for the disorder.

Heritability estimates for cognitive factors and brain white matter integrity as markers of schizophrenia.

Recent genetics research focusing on schizophrenia has led to candidate cognitive and neuroimaging variables as intermediate phenotypes or "endophenotype" markers for the illness. Among other stringent criteria, to be an endophenotype, a marker must demonstrate heritability. In an effort to explore the validity of a selection of cognitive and neuroimaging endophenotypes, the present study was designed to determine estimates of their heritability.

Neuropsychological performance as endophenotypes in extended schizophrenia families from the Central Valley of Costa Rica.

Objective: The understanding of complex heritable psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia could be clarified by examining endophenotypes within genetically isolated populations, such as the one found in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. The reduction of familial variability within a sample could allow the relationship between the cognitive and symptomatic manifestations of the illness and the genetic underpinnings to become more observable. This study investigates the neuropsychological test performances of 41 family members from four extended multiplex families within the Spanish origin population of the Central Valley of Costa Rica as potential endophenotypes for genetic studies.

Telomerase levels in schizophrenia: a preliminary study.

We previously demonstrated that telomere length was markedly reduced in peripheral blood lymphocytes from individuals with schizophrenia. Since reduced telomere length can be caused by decreased telomerase activity, we quantitated basal telomerase activity in peripheral blood lymphocytes derived from individuals with schizophrenia (n=53), unaffected relatives (n=31) and unrelated controls (n=59). Telomerase activity varied greatly among individuals, suggesting that this enzymatic activity is affected by various factors.

A DTI study of white matter microstructure in individuals at high genetic risk for schizophrenia.

Structural brain developmental anomalies, particularly those in frontotemporal white matter pathways, may have a genetic component and place people at increased risk for schizophrenia. The current study employed Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) to measure fractional anisotropy (FA) as a quantitative indicator of white matter integrity. We examined twenty-two participants at high genetic risk for schizophrenia (HR), 23 people with schizophrenia (most of whom were family members of those at HR) and 37 non-psychiatric controls for comparison.