Structural Integrity and Functional Neural Activity Associated with Oral Language Function after Stroke.

(1) Background: The impairment of language function after a stroke is common. It is unclear how the brain reorganizes for language function after cerebral infarction. The aim of this observational study is to investigate the association of structural integrity and functional neural activity with language function in aphasic patients with middle cerebral artery infarction.

The effects of positive or negative self-talk on the alteration of brain functional connectivity by performing cognitive tasks.

Self-talk can improve cognitive performance, but the underlying mechanism of such improvement has not been investigated. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of self-talks on functional connectivity associated with cognitive performance. We used the short form of Progressive Matrices Test (sRPM) to measure differences in performance improvements between self-respect and self-criticism.

Lesion-based structural and functional networks in patients with step length asymmetry after stroke.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine common structural and functional networks associated with asymmetric step length after unilateral ischemic stroke.

Methods: Thirty-nine chronic stroke patients were divided into two groups, based on the presence or absence of asymmetric step length. In each group, each lesion was mapped onto a brain magnetic resonance image.

Choice of Leisure Activities by Adolescents and Adults With Internet Gaming Disorder: Development and Feasibility Study of a Virtual Reality Program.

Background: Excessive internet game use frequently leads to various physical, psychological, and social problems, and internet gaming disorder (IGD) has become a serious public health issue worldwide. Recently, virtual reality (VR) therapy has emerged as a promising method to increase psychological treatment motivation and accessibility. However, few studies have examined the potential of VR technology for the management of IGD, and VR content tailored to IGD characteristics remains scarce.

Multimodal magnetic resonance imaging correlates of motor outcome after stroke using machine learning.

This study applied machine learning regression to predict motor function after stroke based on multimodal magnetic resonance imaging. Fifty-four stroke patients, who underwent T1 weighted, diffusion tensor, and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging were retrospectively included. The kernel rigid regression machine algorithm was applied to gray and white matter maps in T1 weighted, fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity maps in diffusion tensor, and two motor-related independent component analysis maps in resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging to predict Fugl-Meyer motor assessment scores with the covariate as the onset duration after stroke.

Characterization of idiopathic Parkinson's disease subgroups using quantitative gait analysis and corresponding subregional striatal uptake visualized using F-FP-CIT positron emission tomography.

Background: Gait disturbance is one of the most common symptoms among patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). Nevertheless, Parkinson's disease subtype clustering according to gait characteristics has not been thoroughly investigated.

Research Question: The aim of this study was to identify subgroups according to gait pattern among patients with IPD.

Neural effects of a short-term virtual reality self-training program to reduce social anxiety.

Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by anxiety regarding social situations, avoidance of external social stimuli, and negative self-beliefs. Virtual reality self-training (VRS) at home may be a good interim modality for reducing social fears before formal treatment. This study aimed to find neurobiological evidence for the therapeutic effect of VRS.

Differences in the modulation of functional connectivity by self-talk tasks between people with low and high life satisfaction.

Self-respect is a practical way to promote life satisfaction through gratifying basic psychological needs, whereas self-criticism is associated with life dissatisfaction. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of two positive and negative self-talks on the functional connectome with respect to life satisfaction and its relationships with basic psychological needs. Forty-eight individuals with low life satisfaction (LLS, n ​= ​24) and with high life satisfaction (HLS, n ​= ​24) were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging at a baseline state and during and after self-respect or self-criticism tasks.

Neural Basis of Ambivalence towards Ideal Self-Image in Schizophrenia.

Objective: Little has been explored about a reflection towards self-image in schizophrenia, though it can be related to heterogeneous symptoms of the illness. We identified the neural basis of ambivalence towards ideal self-image in patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: 20 patients with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls underwent functional MRI while the self-image reflection tasks of determining whether to agree with sentences describing their actual or ideal self-image that contained one of the adjective pairs with opposite valence.

Gait pattern analysis and clinical subgroup identification: a retrospective observational study.

To identify basic gait features and abnormal gait patterns that are common to different neurological or musculoskeletal conditions, such as cerebral stroke, Parkinsonian disorders, radiculopathy, and musculoskeletal pain.In this retrospective study, temporal-spatial, kinematic, and kinetic gait parameters were analyzed in 424 patients with hemiplegia after stroke, 205 patients with Parkinsonian disorders, 216 patients with radiculopathy, 167 patients with musculoskeletal pain, and 316 normal controls (total, 1328 subjects). We assessed differences according to the condition and used a community detection algorithm to identify subgroups within each condition.

Bihemispheric changes associated with cognition in patients with chronic brainstem stroke.

Objective: We aimed to identify brain changes associated with preserved cognitive function in patients with chronic brainstem stroke.

Methods: Twelve patients with chronic brainstem stroke and 24 age-matched healthy controls were included in this retrospective study. All participants underwent T1-weighted, diffusion tensor, and resting-state functional MRI.

Neural basis of romantic partners' decisions about participation in leisure activity.

Leisure activity is one of key ingredients for individual happiness and life satisfaction. Enjoying leisure activity with one's partner can increase marital satisfaction. This study aimed to identify the neural basis of making decisions on participation in a leisure activity with one's romantic partner as well as the relationship between leisure activity and satisfaction with life.

Differences in Brain Areas Affecting Language Function After Stroke.

Background and Purpose- Brain areas associated with functional improvement differ between acute and chronic phases after stroke. This study investigated brain areas associated with language function, according to time after stroke. Methods- Patients with aphasia after stroke were divided into subacute (≤3 months after stroke, 17 patients) and chronic groups (>12 months after stroke, 23 patients).

Neural Basis of Professional Pride in the Reaction to Uniform Wear.

Professional pride is a positive emotion that includes self-reflection or evaluation and attitude toward one's own occupational group. Uniforms can encourage the wearer to have professional pride. The current study aimed to elucidate the neural basis of professional pride using an experimental task related to the self in uniform and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Different neural substrates at first impressions of same-sex and opposite-sex faces in women.

First impressions follow a complex process that is greatly influenced by the facial attributes and the sex of the displayer. This study aimed to evaluate whether the initial impression formed in friendship decisions is processed differently between the same-sex and opposite-sex targets in women. Twenty-four healthy female volunteers participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, in which they appraised a given face and decided whether they wanted to befriend the target.

Cortical and subcortical changes in resting-state functional connectivity before and during an episode of postoperative delirium.

Objective: Delirium is an acute brain failure related to uncertain problems in neural connectivity, including aberrant functional interactions between remote cortical regions. This study aimed to elucidate the underlying neural mechanisms of delirium by clarifying the changes in resting-state functional connectivity induced by postoperative delirium using imaging data scanned before and after surgery.

Method: Fifty-eight patients with a femoral neck fracture were preoperatively scanned using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Altered structural connectivity associated with motor improvement in chronic supratentorial ischemic stroke.

This study aimed to identify brain structural changes associated with motor recovery, after neurorehabilitation in patients with chronic supratentorial ischemic stroke. Twenty-one chronic stroke patients with an improved Fugl-Meyer motor assessment score were retrospectively included in the study. All participants underwent diffusion tensor imaging twice: before and after the outpatient neurorehabilitation program.

Structural and functional connectivity correlates with motor impairment in chronic supratentorial stroke: a multimodal magnetic resonance imaging study.

The aim of this study was to identify differences in structural and functional brain connectivity between poststroke mild and severe motor impairment. Twenty-four chronic stroke patients who underwent resting-state functional MRI and diffusion tensor image were retrospectively included. All patients were classified into two groups (mild motor impairment: 11 patients and severe motor impairment: 13 patients) according to their Fugl-Meyer motor assessment score.

Neural Correlates of Distorted Self-concept in Individuals With Internet Gaming Disorder: A Functional MRI Study.

Discrepancy between ideal self-guide and actual self-concept evoke dejection-related feeling, and often individuals with internet gaming disorder (IGD) use games as the tool to escape those negative emotions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the pattern of self-discrepancy based on actual and ideal self-images and elucidate the neural correlates underlying the distorted self in individuals with IGD. Nineteen male individuals with IGD and 20 healthy controls (HCs) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging where they decided on whether they agreed with the adjectives describing their actual or ideal self on a four-point Likert Scale.

Brain mapping of motor and functional recovery after supratentorial stroke.

Objective: The present study aimed to identify the brain regions involved in upper and lower limb motor and functional recovery after stroke.

Methods: Twenty-five patients (mean age 73.4 years; average duration from stroke onset 50.

Neural predisposing factors of postoperative delirium in elderly patients with femoral neck fracture.

Elderly adults are more likely to develop delirium after major surgery, but there is limited knowledge of the vulnerability for postoperative delirium. In this study, we aimed to identify neural predisposing factors for postoperative delirium and develop a prediction model for estimating an individual's probability of postoperative delirium. Among 57 elderly participants with femoral neck fracture, 25 patients developed postoperative delirium and 32 patients did not.

Development of an effective virtual environment in eliciting craving in adolescents and young adults with internet gaming disorder.

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is a new disorder that warrants further investigation, as recently noted in the research criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Offering controlled environments that increase cue-induced craving, virtual reality cue-exposure therapy has been shown to be effective for some addiction disorders. To assess the feasibility of virtual reality for patients with IGD, this study aimed to develop virtual environments that represent risk situations for inducing craving, and assess the effect of virtual reality in cue reactivity.

Brain mapping for long-term recovery of gait after supratentorial stroke: A retrospective cross-sectional study.

The recovery of independent gait after stroke is a main goal of patients and understanding the relationship between brain lesions and the recovery of gait can help physicians set viable rehabilitation plans. Our study investigated the association between variables of gait parameters and brain lesions.Fifty poststroke patients with a mean age of 67.