Background: The brain mechanisms of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), a highly effective treatment for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), are unknown. Neuroimaging in adult OCD indicates that CBT is associated with metabolic changes in striatum, thalamus, and anterior cingulate cortex. We therefore probed putative metabolic effects of CBT on these brain structures in pediatric OCD using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (1H MRSI).
Method: Five unmedicated OCD patients (4 ♀, 13.5±2.8) and 9 healthy controls (7 ♀, 13.0±2.5) underwent MRSI (1.5 T, repetition-time/echo-time=1500/30 ms) of bilateral putamen, thalamus and pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC). Patients were rescanned after 12 weeks of exposure-based CBT. The Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS) of OCD symptoms was administered before and after CBT.
Results: Four of 5 patients responded to CBT (mean 32.8% CY-BOCS reduction). Multiple metabolite effects emerged. Pre-CBT, N-acetyl-aspartate+N-acetyl-aspartyl-glutamate (tNAA) in left pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC) was 55.5% higher in patients than controls. Post-CBT, tNAA (15.0%) and Cr (23.9%) in left pACC decreased and choline compounds (Cho) in right thalamus increased (10.6%) in all 5 patients. In left thalamus, lower pre-CBT tNAA, glutamate+glutamine (Glx), and myo-inositol (mI) predicted greater post-CBT drop in CY-BOCS (r=0.98) and CY-BOCS decrease correlated with increased Cho.
Conclusions: Interpretations are offered in terms of the Glutamatergic Hypothesis of Pediatric OCD. Similar to 18FDG-PET in adults, objectively measurable regional MRSI metabolites may indicate pediatric OCD and predict its response to CBT.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2011.09.007 | DOI Listing |
Brain Imaging Behav
January 2025
School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan, Republic of Korea.
COVID-19 disease, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has significantly altered modern society and lifestyles. We investigated its impact on brain glucose metabolism by meta-analyzing existing studies that utilized 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) scans of the brain. We conducted a systematic search of MEDLINE and EMBASE databases from inception to August 2024 for English-language publications using the keywords "positron emission tomography", and "COVID-19".
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain Sci
January 2025
Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea.
The significant correlation between ancient medicinal practices and brain function marks a revolutionary frontier in the field of neuroscience. Acupuncture, a traditional oriental medicine, can affect brain regions, such as the hypothalamus, anterior cingulate, posterior cingulate, and hippocampus, and produces specific therapeutic effects, such as pain relief, suppression of hypertension, and alleviation of drug addiction. Among the brain regions, the hypothalamus, a small yet critical region in the brain, plays a pivotal role in maintaining homeostasis by regulating a wide array of physiological processes, including stress responses, energy balance, and pain modulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain Sci
January 2025
Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy.
Background/objectives: A neurobiological framework of bi- or multilingual neurocognitive development must consider the following: (i) longitudinal behavioral and neural measures; (ii) brain developmental constraints across structure and function; and (iii) the development of global multilingual competence in a homogeneous social environment. In this study, we investigated whether multilingual competence yields early changes in executive attention control mechanisms and their underlying neural structures in the frontal-striatal system, such as the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/pre-supplemental area and the left caudate.
Methods: We employed longitudinal neuroimaging and functional connectivity methods in a small group of multilingual children over two years.
Front Neurol
January 2025
Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
Objective: To investigate the altered characteristics of cortical morphology and individual-based morphological brain networks in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), as well as the neural network mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment in T2DM.
Methods: A total of 150 T2DM patients and 130 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in this study. The study used voxel- and surface-based morphometric analyses to investigate morphological alterations (including gray matter volume, cortical thickness, cortical surface area, and localized gyrus index) in the brains of T2DM patients.
Kidney Res Clin Pract
January 2025
Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China.
Background: We aimed to explore changes in decision-related brain microstructure, brain functional activities, and functional connectivity, and their correlations with cognitive function in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). Furthermore, the impact of dialysis on these changes was examined.
Methods: Thirty ESKD patients undergoing PD, 20 chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 5 patients without dialysis (predialysis CKD stage 5), and 30 healthy controls (HC) were recruited for the study.
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