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.

Topological organization of the "small-world" visual attention network in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed childhood psychiatric disorder. Disrupted sustained attention is one of the most significant behavioral impairments in this disorder. We mapped systems-level topological properties of the neural network responsible for sustained attention during a visual sustained task, on the premise that strong associations between anomalies in network features and clinical measures of ADHD would emerge.

A review of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder from the perspective of brain networks.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder in childhood, which affects more than 5% of the population worldwide. ADHD is characterized by developmentally inappropriate behaviors of inattention, and/or impulsivity and hyperactivity. These behavioral manifestations contribute to diminished academic, occupational and social functioning, and have neurobiological bases.

White matter changes in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment detected by diffusion tensor imaging.

Compared to normal aging adults, individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) have significantly increased risk for progressing into Alzheimer's disease (AD). Autopsy studies found that most of the brains of aMCI cases showed anatomical features associated with AD pathology. The recent development of non-invasive neuroimaging technique, such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), makes it possible to investigate the microstructures of the cerebral white matter in vivo.

Thalamic shape and connectivity abnormalities in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by widespread structural and functional abnormalities in the cortico-striato-thalmo-cortical (CSTC) loops that subserve attention and executive functions. In this study, we analyzed thalamic shape and its white matter connections using structural magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion (DTI) data acquired from children with ADHD (n=19) and controls (n=19). Shape morphology of the thalamus was assessed using shape-based analysis, while connectivity between the thalamus and other brain regions was determined using probabilistic diffusion tractography.

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.