Abnormal EEG microstates in Alzheimer's disease: predictors of β-amyloid deposition degree and disease classification.

Electroencephalography (EEG) microstates are used to study cognitive processes and brain disease-related changes. However, dysfunctional patterns of microstate dynamics in Alzheimer's disease (AD) remain uncertain. To investigate microstate changes in AD using EEG and assess their association with cognitive function and pathological changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Molecular basis underlying changes of brain entropy and functional connectivity in major depressive disorders after electroconvulsive therapy.

Introduction: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is widely used for treatment-resistant depression. However, it is unclear whether/how ECT can be targeted to affect brain regions and circuits in the brain to dynamically regulate mood and cognition.

Methods: This study used brain entropy (BEN) to measure the irregular levels of brain systems in 46 major depressive disorder (MDD) patients before and after ECT treatment.

The Application of Extended Reality in Treating Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder in children, characterized by social interaction, communication difficulties, and repetitive and stereotyped behaviors. Existing intervention methods have limitations, such as requiring long treatment periods and needing to be more convenient to implement. Extended Reality (XR) technology offers a virtual environment to enhance children's social, communication, and self-regulation skills.

Contribution of cerebrospinal fluid antibody titers and sex to acute cerebral blood flow in patients with anti-NMDAR autoimmune encephalitis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to elucidate the contribution of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) antibody titers (AT) and sex to acute cerebral blood flow (CBF) in patients diagnosed with anti--methyl-d-aspartate receptor autoimmune encephalitis (NMDAR AE).

Methods: Forty-five patients diagnosed with NMDAR AE were recruited from December 2016 to January 2023. The acute CBF in patients with NMDAR AE at the early stage of the disease was analyzed using arterial spin labeling.

Modulation of hemispheric asymmetry in executive control of attention in schizophrenia with atypical antipsychotic treatment: Potential benefits of olanzapine.

Deficits in executive control of attention have been reported in schizophrenia patients, but can be ameliorated by treatment of atypical antipsychotics along with the symptoms. However, it remains unclear whether this effect is related to a modulation of hemispheric asymmetry in executive control by the medicine. In this behavioral study, we employed a lateralized version of the attention network test to examine the hemispheric asymmetry of executive control in schizophrenia patients before and after olanzapine treatment, compared to matched healthy controls.

Functional and Structural Abnormalities in the Pain Network of Generalized Anxiety Disorder Patients with Pain Symptoms.

Pain symptoms significantly impact the well-being and work capacity of individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and hinder treatment and recovery. Despite existing literature focusing on the neural substrate of pain and anxiety separately, further exploration is needed to understand the possible neuroimaging mechanisms of the pain symptoms in GAD patients. We recruited 73 GAD patients and 75 matched healthy controls (HC) for clinical assessments, as well as resting-state functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging scans.

Patients with episodic migraine without aura have an increased rate of delayed discounting.

Objective: This study aimed to explore decision-making impulsivity and its neural mechanisms in patients with episodic migraine without aura (EMoA).

Background: Previous evidence indicates increased impulsivity and altered reward processing in patients with chronic migraine and medication overuse; however, whether the same holds true for those with EMoA is unclear.

Methods: Patients newly diagnosed with EMoA (n = 51) and healthy controls (HC, n = 45) were recruited.

Changed brain entropy and functional connectivity patterns induced by electroconvulsive therapy in majoy depression disorder.

Objective: Our objective is to innovatively integrate both linear and nonlinear characteristics of brain signals in Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) research, with the goal of uncovering deeper insights into the pathogenesis of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and identifying novel targets for other physical intervention therapies.

Methods: We measured brain entropy (BEN) in 42 MDD patients and 42 matched healthy controls (HC) using rs-fMRI data. Brain regions that differed significantly in patients with MDD before and after ECT were extracted.

Effects of a periodic intermittent theta burst stimulation in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that excitatory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve the cognitive function of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is a novel excitatory rTMS protocol for brain activity stimulation with the ability to induce long-term potentiation-like plasticity and represents a promising treatment for AD. However, the long-term effects of iTBS on cognitive decline and brain structure in patients with AD are unknown.

A Controlled Clinical Study of Accelerated High-Dose Theta Burst Stimulation in Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is frequently treated using a combination of counseling, drugs, and, more recently various transcranial stimulation protocols, but all require several weeks to months for clinically significant improvement, so there is a need for treatments with faster onset. This study investigated whether an accelerated high-dose theta burst stimulation (ahTBS) protocol significantly improves the efficacy of OCD compared to traditional 1-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the routine clinical setting.

Method: Forty-five patients with OCD were randomized into two groups and treated with ahTBS or 1-Hz rTMS for 5 days.

Abnormal hemispheric specialization and inter-hemispheric functional cooperation in generalized anxiety disorder.

Abnormal hemispheric specialization and inter-hemispheric interactions may contribute to the pathogenesis of general anxiety disorder (GAD). The current study investigated these abnormalities in GAD patients based on the two analytic approaches and examined whether such abnormalities are correlated with anxiety symptom severity. Seventy-three patients with GAD and 60 matched healthy controls were recruited.

Development and validation of an in-hospital mortality risk prediction model for patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia in the intensive care unit.

Background: A high mortality rate has always been observed in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU); however, there are few reported predictive models regarding the prognosis of this group of patients. This study aimed to screen for risk factors and assign a useful nomogram to predict mortality in these patients.

Methods: As a developmental cohort, we used 455 patients with SCAP admitted to ICU.

Aberrant reward dynamics in depression with anticipatory anhedonia.

Objective: Previous studies have shown that anticipatory anhedonia is linked to abnormal reward processing. The present study aimed to explore the underlying neural mechanism of the influence of anticipatory anhedonia symptoms on reward processing.

Methods: Electrophysiological activities in the anticipatory and consummatory phase were recorded during the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task in 24 depressed high anticipatory anhedonia (HAA) patients, 25 depressed low anticipatory anhedonia (LAA) patients, and 29 healthy controls (HC).

Effects of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation on implicit emotion regulation of social pain in healthy individuals.

Background: Implicit emotion regulation (ER), a form of ER, is essential for protecting mental health in the process of social interaction. Both the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) have been shown to be involved in ER processes, including explicit ER of social pain, but whether they play a role in implicit ER is unclear.

Methods: We investigated whether anodal high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) of the right VLPFC (rVLPFC) or the right DLPFC (rDLPFC) influences implicit ER.

White Matter Changes as an Independent Predictor of Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Abnormalities in white matter (WM) may be a crucial physiologic feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, neuroimaging's ability to visualize the underlying functional degradation of the WM region in AD is unclear.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the differences in amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF) in the WM region of patients with AD and healthy controls (HC) and to investigate further whether these values can provide supplementary information for diagnosing AD.

Intracranial Atherosclerotic Stenosis Is Associated with Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Nondisabling Ischemic Stroke: A pCASL-Based Study.

Intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) is a key risk factor for vascular cognitive impairment. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) and the spatial coefficient of variation (sCoV) of CBF images (based on pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling) are used to explore abnormal cerebral perfusion. We aimed to probe the mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment in patients with nondisabling anterior circulation macrovascular disease.

The correlation of retinal neurodegeneration and brain degeneration in patients with Alzheimer's disease using optical coherence tomography angiography and MRI.

Introduction: Pathological changes in Alzheimer's disease can cause retina and optic nerve degeneration. The retinal changes are correlated with cognitive function. This study aimed to explore the relationship of retinal differences with neuroimaging in patients with Alzheimer's disease, analyze the association of cognitive function with retinal structure and vascular density, and identify potential additional biomarkers for early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

Brain functional specialization in obsessive-compulsive disorder associated with neurotransmitter profiles.

Background: Cerebral specialization is an important functional architecture of the human brain. Abnormal cerebral specialization may be the underlying pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) was used to show that the specialization pattern of OCD was of great significance for early warning and precise intervention of the disease.

Dynamic Changes of Brain Activity in Different Responsive Groups of Patients with Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness.

As medical technology continues to improve, many patients diagnosed with brain injury survive after treatments but are still in a coma. Further, multiple clinical studies have demonstrated recovery of consciousness after transcranial direct current stimulation. To identify possible neurophysiological mechanisms underlying disorders of consciousness (DOCs) improvement, we examined the changes in multiple resting-state EEG microstate parameters after high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS).