A dual-channel language decoding from brain activity with progressive transfer training.

When we view a scene, the visual cortex extracts and processes visual information in the scene through various kinds of neural activities. Previous studies have decoded the neural activity into single/multiple semantic category tags which can caption the scene to some extent. However, these tags are isolated words with no grammatical structure, insufficiently conveying what the scene contains.

Neurocognitive performance in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients is associated with metabolic abnormalities of the thalamus but not the hippocampus- GABA-edited 1H MRS study.

Objectives: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease that may cause physical disabling as well as cognitive dysfunction. The presented study investigated how the neuropsychological status depends on the thalamus and hippocampus's metabolic processes, using γ-aminobutyric acid-edited magnetic resonance spectroscopy (GABA-edited H MRS) in patients with early MS, and how the results differ from healthy volunteers.

Methods: We recruited 36 relapsing-remitting (RRMS) MS patients and 22 controls (CON).

Correlation of Myocardial Strain and Late Gadolinium Enhancement by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance After a First Anterior ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

To investigate the correlation of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) feature-tracking with conventional CMR parameters in patients with a first anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This sub-analysis of OCTAMI (Optical Coherence Tomography Examination in Acute Myocardial Infarction) registry included 129 patients who finished a CMR examination 1 month after a first anterior STEMI. Cine images were applied to calculate both global and segmental left ventricular peak strain parameters.

Double spectral attenuated inversion recovery (DSPAIR)-an efficient fat suppression technique for late gadolinium enhancement at 3 tesla.

Despite clinical use of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) for two decades, an efficient, robust fat suppression (FS) technique still does not exist for this CMR mainstay. In ischemic and non-ischemic heart disease, differentiating fibrotic tissue from infiltrating and adjacent fat is crucial. Multiple groups have independently developed an FS technique for LGE, double spectral attenuated inversion recovery (DSPAIR), but no comprehensive evaluation was performed.

Concentration of Gallbladder Phosphatidylcholine in Cholangiopathies: A Phosphorus-31 Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Pilot Study.

Background: Biliary phosphatidylcholine (PtdC) concentration plays a role in the pathogenesis of bile duct diseases. In vivo phosphorus-31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( P-MRS) at 7 T offers the possibility to assess this concentration noninvasively with high spectral resolution and signal intensity.

Purpose: Comparison of PtdC levels of cholangiopathic patient groups to a control group using a measured T relaxation time of PtdC in healthy subjects.

3D P MRSI of the human brain at 9.4 Tesla: Optimization and quantitative analysis of metabolic images.

Purpose: To present P whole brain MRSI with a high spatial resolution to probe quantitative tissue analysis of P MRSI at an ultrahigh field strength of 9.4 Tesla.

Methods: The study protocol included a P MRSI measurement with an effective resolution of 2.

Aberrant Claustrum Microstructure in Humans after Premature Birth.

Several observations suggest an impact of prematurity on the claustrum. First, the claustrum's development appears to depend on transient subplate neurons of intra-uterine brain development, which are affected by prematurity. Second, the claustrum is the most densely connected region of the mammalian forebrain relative to its volume; due to its effect on pre-oligodendrocytes, prematurity impacts white matter connections and thereby the development of sources and targets of such connections, potentially including the claustrum.

9.4 T double-tuned C/ H human head array using a combination of surface loops and dipole antennas.

MRI at ultra-high field (UHF, ≥7 T) provides a natural strategy for improving the quality of X-nucleus magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging due to the intrinsic benefit of increased signal-to-noise ratio. Considering that RF coils require both local transmission and reception at UHF, the designs of double-tuned coils, which often consist of several layers of transmit and receive resonant elements, become quite complex. A few years ago, a new type of RF coil, ie a dipole antenna, was developed and used for human body and head imaging at UHF.

Hippocampal atrophy and cognitive function in transient ischemic attack and minor stroke patients over three years.

Introduction: Transient ischemic attack (TIA) and minor ischemic stroke (IS) is associated with a increased risk of late life dementia. In this study we aim to study the extent to which the rates of hippocampal atrophy in TIA/IS differ from healthy controls, and how they are correlated to neuropsychological measurements.

Methods: TIA or minor stroke patients were tested with a neuropsychological battery including tests of executive function, and verbal and non-verbal memory at three time points out to 3 years.

Combining stimulus types for improved coverage in population receptive field mapping.

Retinotopy experiments using population receptive field (pRF) mapping are ideal for assigning regions in the visual field to cortical brain areas. While various designs for visual stimulation were suggested in the literature, all have specific shortcomings regarding visual field coverage. Here we acquired high-resolution 7 Tesla fMRI data to compare pRF-based coverage maps obtained with the two most commonly used stimulus variants: moving bars; rotating wedges and expanding rings.

Decarboxylative Oxyacyloxylation of Propiolic Acids: Construction of Alkynyl-Containing α-Acyloxy Ketones.

Novel decarboxylative oxyacyloxylation of propiolic acids has been developed. This reaction provides an efficient access to alkynyl-containing α-acyloxy ketones from readily available starting materials and exhibits significant functional group tolerance. Furthermore, oxyacyloxylation of terminal alkynes and aliphatic propiolic acids was also developed.

k-Space-based coil combination via geometric deep learning for reconstruction of non-Cartesian MRSI data.

Purpose: State-of-the-art whole-brain MRSI with spatial-spectral encoding and multichannel acquisition generates huge amounts of data, which must be efficiently processed to stay within reasonable reconstruction times. Although coil combination significantly reduces the amount of data, currently it is performed in image space at the end of the reconstruction. This prolongs reconstruction times and increases RAM requirements.

BOLD sensitivity and vessel size specificity along CPMG and GRASE echo trains.

Purpose: To assess the vessel size specificity and sensitivity of rapid CPMG and GRASE for functional BOLD imaging for different echo train lengths, echo spacings, field strength, and refocusing flip angle schemes. In addition, the behavior of signals acquired before and after the refocusing time points is analyzed.

Methods: Evolution of magnetization within a network of artificial cylinders is simulated with Monte Carlo methods for all relevant coherence pathways.

Technical Note: Human tissue-equivalent MRI phantom preparation for 3 and 7 Tesla.

Purpose: While test objects (phantoms) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are crucial for sequence development, protocol validation, and quality control, studies on the preparation of phantoms have been scarce, particularly at fields exceeding 3 Tesla. Here, we present a framework for the preparation of phantoms with well-defined T and T times at 3 and 7 Tesla.

Methods: Phantoms with varying concentrations of agarose and Gd-DTPA were prepared and measured at 3 and 7 Tesla using T and T mapping techniques.

Positivity of oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid predisposed to metabolic changes and rearrangement of inhibitory/excitatory neurotransmitters in subcortical brain structures in multiple sclerosis.

Background: The latest diagnostic criteria for multiple sclerosis (MS) have revitalized the role of oligoclonal bands synthesis in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF-OCB). This study identifies predictors of CSF-OCB-positivity among in vivo metabolic markers in the subcortical gray/white matter in MS patients after their first episode (CIS) and in patients with relapsing-remitting course (RRMS).

Methods: The study enrolled 13 CIS and 23 RRMS patients.

The rise and fall of rapid occipito-temporal sensitivity to letters: Transient specialization through elementary school.

Letters, foundational units of alphabetic writing systems, are quintessential to human culture. The ability to read, indispensable to perform in today's society, necessitates a reorganization of visual cortex for fast letter recognition, but the developmental course of this process has not yet been characterized. Here, we show the emergence of visual sensitivity to letters across five electroencephalography measurements from kindergarten and throughout elementary school and relate this development to emerging reading skills.

Unravelling neuroinflammation in abusive head trauma with radiotracer imaging.

Abusive head trauma (AHT) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in child abuse, with a mortality rate of approximately 25%. In survivors, the prognosis remains dismal, with high prevalence of cerebral palsy, epilepsy and neuropsychiatric disorders. Early and accurate diagnosis of AHT is challenging, both clinically and radiologically, with up to one-third of cases missed on initial examination.

Folded-end dipole transceiver array for human whole-brain imaging at 7 T.

The advancement of clinical applications of ultrahigh field (UHF) MRI depends heavily on advances in technology, including the development of new radiofrequency (RF) coil designs. Currently, the number of commercially available 7 T head RF coils is rather limited, implying a need to develop novel RF head coil designs that offer superior transmit and receive performance. RF coils to be used for clinical applications must be robust and reliable.

Pulseq-CEST: Towards multi-site multi-vendor compatibility and reproducibility of CEST experiments using an open-source sequence standard.

Purpose: As the field of CEST grows, various novel preparation periods using different parameters are being introduced. At the same time, large, multisite clinical studies require clearly defined protocols, especially across different vendors. Here, we propose a CEST definition standard using the open Pulseq format for a shareable, simple, and exact definition of CEST protocols.

Hippocampal single-voxel MR spectroscopy with a long echo time at 3 T using semi-LASER sequence.

The hippocampus is one of the most challenging brain regions for proton MR spectroscopy (MRS) applications. Moreover, quantification of J-coupled species such as myo-inositol (m-Ins) and glutamate + glutamine (Glx) is affected by the presence of macromolecular background. While long echo time (TE) MRS eliminates the macromolecules, it also decreases the m-Ins and Glx signal and, as a result, these metabolites are studied mainly with short TE.

Deep Learning to Automate Reference-Free Image Quality Assessment of Whole-Heart MR Images.

Purpose: To develop and characterize an algorithm that mimics human expert visual assessment to quantitatively determine the quality of three-dimensional (3D) whole-heart MR images.

Materials And Methods: In this study, 3D whole-heart cardiac MRI scans from 424 participants (average age, 57 years ± 18 [standard deviation]; 66.5% men) were used to generate an image quality assessment algorithm.

Investigating the effect of trigger delay on cardiac 31P MRS signals.

The heart's geometry and its metabolic activity vary over the cardiac cycle. The effect of these fluctuations on phosphorus (P) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) data quality and metabolite ratios was investigated. 12 healthy volunteers were measured using a 7 T MR scanner and a cardiac P-H loop coil.

Mitral Valve Prolapse, Arrhythmias, and Sudden Cardiac Death: The Role of Multimodality Imaging to Detect High-Risk Features.

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) was first described in the 1960s, and it is usually a benign condition. However, a subtype of patients are known to have a higher incidence of ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death, the so called "arrhythmic MVP." In recent years, several studies have been published to identify the most important clinical features to distinguish the benign form from the potentially lethal one in order to personalize patient's treatment and follow-up.