Examining relationships among NODDI indices of white matter structure in prefrontal cortical-thalamic-striatal circuitry and OCD symptomatology.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a psychiatric disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors. There are two prominent features: Harm Avoidance (HA) and Incompleteness (INC). Previous resting-state studies reported abnormally elevated connectivity between prefrontal cortical (PFC) and subcortical regions (thalamus, striatum) in OCD participants.

Antecedents and risk factors for borderline personality disorder: Etiopathogenic models based on a multi-level meta-analysis.

Background: Empirically-based developmental psychopathology approach identified three domains involved in the emergence of borderline personality disorder (BPD): i) underlying liabilities to develop psychopathology (i.e., early patterns of internalizing and externalizing manifestations); ii) invalidating relational experiences (e.

Three-dimensional fiber orientation mapping of the human brain at micrometer resolution.

The accurate measurement of three-dimensional (3D) fiber orientation in the brain is crucial for reconstructing fiber pathways and studying their involvement in neurological diseases. Comprehensive reconstruction of axonal tracts and small fascicles requires high-resolution technology beyond the ability of current imaging (e.g.

Translation of monosynaptic circuits underlying amygdala fMRI neurofeedback training.

fMRI neurofeedback using autobiographical memory recall to upregulate the amygdala is associated with resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) changes between the amygdala and the salience and default mode networks (SN and DMN, respectively). We hypothesize the existence of anatomical circuits underlying these rsFC changes. Using a cross-species brain parcellation, we identified in non-human primates locations homologous to the regions of interest (ROIs) from studies showing pre-to-post-neurofeedback changes in rsFC with the left amygdala.

Interplay between MRI-based axon diameter and myelination estimates in macaque and human brain.

Axon diameter and myelin thickness are closely related microstructural tissue properties that affect the conduction velocity of action potentials in the nervous system. Imaging them non-invasively with MRI-based methods is thus valuable for studying brain microstructure and function. However, the relationship between MRI-based axon diameter and myelination measures has not been investigated across the brain, mainly due to methodological limitations in estimating axon diameters.

Ferroptosis: Emerging Role in Diseases and Potential Implication of Bioactive Compounds.

Ferroptosis is a form of cell death that is distinguished from other types of death for its peculiar characteristics of death regulated by iron accumulation, increase in ROS, and lipid peroxidation. In the past few years, experimental evidence has correlated ferroptosis with various pathological processes including neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. Ferroptosis also is involved in several types of cancer because it has been shown to induce tumor cell death.

Quantitative imaging of three-dimensional fiber orientation in the human brain via two illumination angles using polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography.

The accurate measurement of three-dimensional (3D) fiber orientation in the brain is crucial for reconstructing fiber pathways and studying their involvement in neurological diseases. Optical imaging methods such as polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) provide important tools to directly quantify fiber orientation at micrometer resolution. However, brain imaging based on the optic axis by PS-OCT so far has been limited to two-dimensional in-plane orientation, preventing the comprehensive study of connectivity in 3D.

Self-supervised segmentation and characterization of fiber bundles in anatomic tracing data.

Anatomic tracing is the gold standard tool for delineating brain connections and for validating more recently developed imaging approaches such as diffusion MRI tractography. A key step in the analysis of data from tracer experiments is the careful, manual charting of fiber trajectories on histological sections. This is a very time-consuming process, which limits the amount of annotated tracer data that are available for validation studies.

Eddy current-induced artifact correction in high b-value ex vivo human brain diffusion MRI with dynamic field monitoring.

Purpose: To investigate whether spatiotemporal magnetic field monitoring can correct pronounced eddy current-induced artifacts incurred by strong diffusion-sensitizing gradients up to 300 mT/m used in high b-value diffusion-weighted (DW) EPI.

Methods: A dynamic field camera equipped with 16 H NMR field probes was first used to characterize field perturbations caused by residual eddy currents from diffusion gradients waveforms in a 3D multi-shot EPI sequence on a 3T Connectom scanner for different gradient strengths (up to 300 mT/m), diffusion directions, and shots. The efficacy of dynamic field monitoring-based image reconstruction was demonstrated on high-gradient strength, submillimeter resolution whole-brain ex vivo diffusion MRI.

Dissociative Dimensions and Their Implications for Emotional Dysregulation Underlying Borderline Personality Disorder Features.

Emotion dysregulation is considered a core feature of borderline personality disorder (BPD). The role of dissociation in BPD has been discussed from different perspectives. Nevertheless, implications of dissociation for BPD features are not clear.

Sustaining wakefulness: Brainstem connectivity in human consciousness.

Consciousness is comprised of arousal (i.e., wakefulness) and awareness.

Catechins and Proanthocyanidins Involvement in Metabolic Syndrome.

Recent studies on natural antioxidant compounds have highlighted their potentiality against various pathological conditions. The present review aims to selectively evaluate the benefits of catechins and their polymeric structure on metabolic syndrome, a common disorder characterized by a cluster of three main risk factors: obesity, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. Patients with metabolic syndrome suffer chronic low inflammation state and oxidative stress both conditions effectively countered by flavanols and their polymers.

Domain-agnostic segmentation of thalamic nuclei from joint structural and diffusion MRI.

The human thalamus is a highly connected subcortical grey-matter structure within the brain. It comprises dozens of nuclei with different function and connectivity, which are affected differently by disease. For this reason, there is growing interest in studying the thalamic nuclei in vivo with MRI.

Accurate Bayesian segmentation of thalamic nuclei using diffusion MRI and an improved histological atlas.

The human thalamus is a highly connected brain structure, which is key for the control of numerous functions and is involved in several neurological disorders. Recently, neuroimaging studies have increasingly focused on the volume and connectivity of the specific nuclei comprising this structure, rather than looking at the thalamus as a whole. However, accurate identification of cytoarchitectonically designed histological nuclei on standard in vivo structural MRI is hampered by the lack of image contrast that can be used to distinguish nuclei from each other and from surrounding white matter tracts.

The Rostral Zona Incerta: A Subcortical Integrative Hub and Potential Deep Brain Stimulation Target for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Background: The zona incerta (ZI) is involved in mediating survival behaviors and is connected to a wide range of cortical and subcortical structures, including key basal ganglia nuclei. Based on these connections and their links to behavioral modulation, we propose that the ZI is a connectional hub for mediating between top-down and bottom-up control and a possible target for deep brain stimulation for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Methods: We analyzed the trajectory of cortical fibers to the ZI in nonhuman and human primates based on tracer injections in monkeys and high-resolution diffusion magnetic resonance imaging in humans.

Neural responses to emotional stimuli across the dissociative spectrum: Common and specific mechanisms.

Aim: Departing from existing neurobiological models of dissociation, the current study aims at conducting a quantitative meta-analytic review of neural responses to emotional stimuli among individuals ascribed to the dissociative spectrum (DS). Accordingly, the study explored common and specific brain mechanisms across borderline personality disorder, conversion/somatoform disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder related to repeated interpersonal traumatic experiences, and dissociative disorders.

Methods: The meta-analysis included studies that administered emotional stimuli during functional magnetic resonance imaging acquisition among individuals included in the DS.

Eddy current-induced artifacts correction in high gradient strength diffusion MRI with dynamic field monitoring: demonstration in ex vivo human brain imaging.

Purpose: To demonstrate the advantages of spatiotemporal magnetic field monitoring to correct eddy current-induced artifacts (ghosting and geometric distortions) in high gradient strength diffusion MRI (dMRI).

Methods: A dynamic field camera with 16 NMR field probes was used to characterize eddy current fields induced from diffusion gradients for different gradients strengths (up to 300 mT/m), diffusion directions, and shots in a 3D multi-shot EPI sequence on a 3T Connectom scanner. The efficacy of dynamic field monitoring-based image reconstruction was demonstrated on high-resolution whole brain ex vivo dMRI.

Automated detection of axonal damage along white matter tracts in acute severe traumatic brain injury.

New techniques for individualized assessment of white matter integrity are needed to detect traumatic axonal injury (TAI) and predict outcomes in critically ill patients with acute severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Diffusion MRI tractography has the potential to quantify white matter microstructure in vivo and has been used to characterize tract-specific changes following TBI. However, tractography is not routinely used in the clinical setting to assess the extent of TAI, in part because focal lesions reduce the robustness of automated methods.

Persistent Deficits in Self-Regulation as a Mediator between Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms and Substance Use Disorders.

The link between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substance use disorders (SUDs) has been largely demonstrated. Some scholars have hypothesized that self-regulation mechanisms might play a key role in explaining this association. The current study tested the hypothesis that retrospective childhood ADHD symptoms might lead to more severe SUDs and this association should be mediated by current self-ratings of behavioral disinhibition, inattention, and emotional dysregulation among 204 treatment-seeking adults (male: 67.