Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) alterations in adults with subthreshold depression after physical exercise: A resting-state fMRI study

Frontoparietal and temporal brain alterations post-cardiopulmonary bypass

Patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) often experience neurological complications, but the neurobiological mechanisms remain unclear. This study combined resting-state fMRI, structural MRI, and cognitive testing to examine brain changes in 124 CPB patients and matched controls. Reduced amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in the bilateral frontoparietal lobes indicated diminished neural activity among patients, and these ALFF values were positively correlated with the degree of executive dysfunction measured by the attention network test. Functional connectivity within the frontoparietal executive control network was weakened. Brain structural analysis revealed cortical thinning in frontoparietal and temporal regions, increased sulcal depth in medial orbitofrontal areas, and reduced gyrification in the insula suggesting long-term morphological impacts. These findings demonstrate CPB-associated functional and structural alterations in brain regions critical for cognition, providing neuroimaging evidence for postoperative dysfunction and potential neuroprotective strategies.

Short-term alterations of brain network properties in subthreshold depression: the impact of Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Purpose

Patients with subthreshold depression (sD) carry a significant risk of developing major depressive disorder. However, few studies focus on the influence of Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (ICBT) on brain network, particularly among Chinese undergraduates. This study aims to conduct resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) to explore the effects of ICBT on neurofunctional network.

Methods

This short-term longitudinal study enrolled 30 sD patients and 24 healthy matched participants. We gathered the clinical measurements outcomes from sD patients. Baseline and post-intervention MRI scans were performed for the sD patients, additionally, a matched healthy controls group underwent baseline MRI scans, functional network matrix was established from the temporal rs-MRI series. Nodal efficiency (Enod) was quantified by calculating the area under the curve (AUC) of network metrics.

Results

The patients with sD exhibited reduced clinical measurement scores after ICBT intervention. Moreover, after ICBT intervention, functional network analysis revealed an increased Enod in the orbital part of the left inferior frontal gyrus, and decreased Enod in the left paracentral lobule and right precentral gyrus.

Conclusion

This study showed alterations in brain network in patients with sD after ICBT intervention. These findings shed light on the neurofunctional mechanisms underlying the effects of ICBT in sD patients.

Altered resting-state functional connectivity of amygdala subregions in adults with subthreshold depression after aerobic exercise

Aerobic exercise has been proved to reduce the risk of major depression in subthreshold depression (StD) individuals effectively, yet previous studies ignored the different functions of amygdala subregions. In this study, 44 StD individuals and 34 healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after eight weeks of aerobic exercise respectively. Transverse and longitudinal analyses were conducted based on the seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis between amygdala subregions and the whole brain of the two groups. The transverse analyses showed that compared to HCs, StD individuals showed abnormal FC between the right dorsal amygdala (DA) and right superior frontal gyrus, the left medial amygdala (MA) and left gyrus rectus, right caudate, as well as the right ventrolateral amygdala (VA) and right angular gyrus before the exercise intervention, while increased FC between the right DA and left supramarginal gyrus after the exercise intervention. The longitudinal analysis showed decreased FC between the left DA and left caudate, left middle frontal gyrus, while increased FC between the right MA and posterior central gyrus in StD individuals after exercise intervention. As for HCs, the DA showed FC differences with the insula, frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe and thalamus. The MA showed FC differences with the central posterior gyrus, occipital lobe and thalamus. The VA showed FC differences with the calcarine cortex and parietal lobe. The findings demonstrated the alleviative effect of aerobic exercise on depression from the perspective of brain function.

Exploration of brain imaging biomarkers in subthreshold depression patients across different ages: an ALE meta-analysis based on MRI studies

BACKGROUND

Structural neuroimaging findings in Subthreshold depression (StD) patients at different ages are highly heterogeneous. This study aims to investigate the pathophysiology of StD across different ages.

METHODS

Literature searches for MRI studies of StD were conducted in 11 databases, including PubMed and Embase, from database inception to June 18, 2024. An activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis was performed on the studies across different ages.

RESULTS

A total of 24 studies were included. The results revealed that the significant convergent brain regions in StD patients across different ages were primarily located within the frontostriatal circuit. Age-related differences were observed. For adolescent patients, the significant convergent brain regions were the caudate, putamen, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and medial frontal gyrus (MFG). For young adult patients, the significant convergent brain regions were the inferior frontal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, insula, putamen, claustrum, and medial globus pallidus. For middle-aged and older patients, the significant convergent brain regions were the ACC, the MFG, and the superior frontal gyrus.

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed that abnormalities in the frontostriatal circuit were neuroimaging features common in StD patients across different ages. Additionally, unique different brain regions were identified between age groups. These findings elucidated the mechanisms of StD and provided a theoretical basis for its prevention and treatment.

Longitudinal neurofunctional alterations following nonpharmacological treatments and the mediating role of regional homogeneity in subclinical depression comorbid with sleep disorders among college students

BACKGROUND

Clinical guidelines recommend nonpharmacological treatment (nPHT) as the primary intervention for subthreshold depression management. Counseling (CS) and electroacupuncture (EA) are two promising nonpharmacological approaches for improving both depression and sleep disturbance. However, the intrinsic neuroimaging mechanisms underlying the antidepressant effects of these nPHTs are not yet fully understood.

METHODS

We analyzed longitudinal resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data from a randomized, single-blind clinical trial involving 96 first-episode, drug-naïve college students with subclinical depression and sleep disorders (sDSD; mean age 20.43 ± 2.72 years; 66.7% female) and 90 healthy controls (HCs; mean age 21.02 ± 2.68 years; 61.1% female). Participants with sDSD were randomly assigned to receive either scalp EA (n = 47) or CS (n = 49) for six weeks. The regional homogeneity (ReHo) and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) before and after nPHT were calculated. Correlation and mediation analyses were performed to investigate the complex relationships between fMRI indicators and clinical symptoms.

RESULTS

The ALFF in the left paracentral lobule in sDSD patients presented an interaction effect between group and time following six weeks of nPHT. In the CS group, the ALFF in the left paracentral lobule decreased (p < 0.001), and in the EA group, it increased (p < 0.05). Compared with HCs, the baseline sDSD has many abnormal brain regions in terms of ALFF and ReHo. The whole-brain average ReHo was negatively correlated with depression scores (r = -0.26, p < 0.001) and sleep quality scores (r = -0.25, p < 0.001) and mediated the association between depression and sleep disorders [β = 0.2857, p < 0.001, 95% CI (0.23, 0.35)].

CONCLUSIONS

Nonpharmacological therapies provide different therapeutic outcomes in terms of the same rs-fMRI indicator. ALFF in the left paracentral lobule could be used as an imaging biomarker in nPHT selection. Rs-fMRI indicators are promising for understanding the neural basis of the complex relationship between subclinical depression and insomnia comorbidities in young adults.

Shared differential factors underlying individual spontaneous neural activity abnormalities in major depressive disorder

BACKGROUND

In contemporary neuroimaging studies, it has been observed that patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) exhibit aberrant spontaneous neural activity, commonly quantified through the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF). However, the substantial individual heterogeneity among patients poses a challenge to reaching a unified conclusion.

METHODS

To address this variability, our study adopts a novel framework to parse individualized ALFF abnormalities. We hypothesize that individualized ALFF abnormalities can be portrayed as a unique linear combination of shared differential factors. Our study involved two large multi-center datasets, comprising 2424 patients with MDD and 2183 healthy controls. In patients, individualized ALFF abnormalities were derived through normative modeling and further deconstructed into differential factors using non-negative matrix factorization.

RESULTS

Two positive and two negative factors were identified. These factors were closely linked to clinical characteristics and explained group-level ALFF abnormalities in the two datasets. Moreover, these factors exhibited distinct associations with the distribution of neurotransmitter receptors/transporters, transcriptional profiles of inflammation-related genes, and connectome-informed epicenters, underscoring their neurobiological relevance. Additionally, factor compositions facilitated the identification of four distinct depressive subtypes, each characterized by unique abnormal ALFF patterns and clinical features. Importantly, these findings were successfully replicated in another dataset with different acquisition equipment, protocols, preprocessing strategies, and medication statuses, validating their robustness and generalizability.

CONCLUSIONS

This research identifies shared differential factors underlying individual spontaneous neural activity abnormalities in MDD and contributes novel insights into the heterogeneity of spontaneous neural activity abnormalities in MDD.

Associations between specific dietary patterns, gut microbiome composition, and incident subthreshold depression in Chinese young adults

INTRODUCTION

The interplay between influential factors and the incidence of subthreshold depression (SD) in young adults remains poorly understood.

OBJECTIVES

This study sought to understand the dietary habits, gut microbiota composition, etc. among individuals with SD in young adults and to investigate their association with SD occurrence.

METHODS

Employing a cross-sectional approach, 178 individuals with SD, aged 18-32 years, were matched with 114 healthy counterparts. SD status was evaluated using the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Beck Depression Inventory 2nd version (BDI-II), the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scales of Depression (HAMD-17), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Metagenomic sequencing was utilized to identify fecal microbial profiles. Dietary patterns were discerned via factor analysis of a 25-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Logistic regression analysis and mediation analysis were performed to explore the potential links between gut microbiota, dietary patterns, and incident SD.

RESULTS

Data on dietary habits were available for 292 participants (mean [SD] age, 22.1 [2.9] years; 216 [73.9 %] female). Logistic regression analysis revealed that dietary patterns Ⅰ (odds ratio [OR], 0.34; 95 % CI, 0.15-0.75) and IV (OR, 0.39; 95 % CI, 0.17-0.86 and OR, 0.39; 95 % CI, 0.18-0.84) were associated with reduced risk of SD. Distinct microbial profiles were observed in young adults with SD, marked by increased microbial diversity and taxonomic alterations. Moreover, mediation analysis suggested Veillonella atypica as a potential mediator linking SDS or BDI-II scores with a healthy dietary pattern rich in bean products, coarse grains, nuts, fruits, mushrooms, and potatoes (β = 0.25, 95 % CI: 0.02-0.78 and β = 0.18, 95 % CI: 0.01-0.54).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the complex interplay between dietary patterns, gut microbiota, and the risk of developing SD in young adults, underscoring the potential for dietary interventions and microbiome modulation in mental health promotion.

Neural activation signatures in individuals with subclinical depression: A task-fMRI meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Previous task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (task-fMRI) investigations have documented abnormal brain activation associated with subclinical depression (SD), defined as a clinically relevant level of depressive symptoms that does not meet the diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder. However, these task-fMRI studies have not reported consistent conclusions. Performing a voxel-based meta-analysis of task-fMRI studies may yield reliable findings.

METHODS

We extracted the peak coordinates and t values of included studies and analyzed brain activation between individuals with SD and healthy controls (HCs) using anisotropic effect-size signed differential mapping (AES-SDM).

RESULTS

A systematic literature search identified eight studies, including 266 individuals with SD and 281 HCs (aged 14 to 25). The meta-analysis showed that individuals with SD exhibited significantly greater activation in the right lenticular nucleus and putamen according to task-fMRI. The meta-regression analysis revealed a negative correlation between the proportion of females in a group and activation in the right striatum.

LIMITATIONS

The recruitment criteria for individuals with SD, type of tasks and MRI acquisition parameters of included studies were heterogeneous. The results should be interpreted cautiously due to insufficient included studies.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that individuals with SD exhibit increased activation in the right lenticular nucleus, putamen and striatum, which may indicate a compensatory increase in response to an impairment of insular and striatal function caused by depression. These results provide valuable insights into the potential pathophysiology of brain dysfunction in SD.

Subregions of the fusiform gyrus are differentially involved in the attentional mechanism supporting visual mental imagery in depression

BACKGROUND

Impaired visual mental imagery is an important symptom of depression and has gradually become an intervention target for cognitive behavioral therapy.

METHODS

Our study involved a total of 25 healthy controls (HC) and 23 individuals with moderate depressive symptoms (MD). This study explored the attentional mechanism supporting visual mental imagery impairments in depression using the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ), attentional network test (ANT), and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). The intrinsic activity of attention-related regions relative to those supporting visual mental imagery was identified in depression patients. In addition, a meta-analysis was used to describe the cognitive function related to this intrinsic activity.

RESULTS

The global correlation (GCOR) of the right anterior fusiform gyrus (FG) was decreased in depression patients. Attention-related areas were concentrated in the right posterior FG; the anterior and posterior functional connectivity (FC) of the FG was decreased in depression patients. Graph theoretic analysis showed that the degree of the right anterior FG was decreased, the degree of the anterior insula was increased, and the negative connection between these two regions was strengthened in depression patients. In addition, the degree of the right anterior FG, the FC between the subregions of the right FG, and the FC between the right anterior FG and insula were correlated with VVIQ scores; however, this correlation was not significant in depression patients. The meta-analysis suggested that the changes in the anterior FG in depressed patients may stem from difficulties of semantic memory retrieval.

CONCLUSION

The changed intrinsic activity of subregions of the FG relative to the semantic memory retrieval may be associated with visual mental imagery impairments in depression.

Altered static and dynamic functional network connectivity in individuals with subthreshold depression: a large-scale resting-state fMRI study

Dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) is an expansion of static FNC (sFNC) that reflects connectivity variations among brain networks. This study aimed to investigate changes in sFNC and dFNC strength and temporal properties in individuals with subthreshold depression (StD). Forty-two individuals with subthreshold depression and 38 healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. Group independent component analysis (GICA) was used to determine target resting-state networks, namely, executive control network (ECN), default mode network (DMN), sensorimotor network (SMN) and dorsal attentional network (DAN). Sliding window and k-means clustering analyses were used to identify dFNC patterns and temporal properties in each subject. We compared sFNC and dFNC differences between the StD and HCs groups. Relationships between changes in FNC strength, temporal properties, and neurophysiological score were evaluated by Spearman's correlation analysis. The sFNC analysis revealed decreased FNC strength in StD individuals, including the DMN-CEN, DMN-SMN, SMN-CEN, and SMN-DAN. In the dFNC analysis, 4 reoccurring FNC patterns were identified. Compared to HCs, individuals with StD had increased mean dwell time and fraction time in a weakly connected state (state 4), which is associated with self-focused thinking status. In addition, the StD group demonstrated decreased dFNC strength between the DMN-DAN in state 2. sFNC strength (DMN-ECN) and temporal properties were correlated with HAMD-17 score in StD individuals (all p < 0.01). Our study provides new evidence on aberrant time-varying brain activity and large-scale network interaction disruptions in StD individuals, which may provide novel insight to better understand the underlying neuropathological mechanisms.

Fractional Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuation and Voxel-Mirrored Homotopic Connectivity in Patients with Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness: Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Purpose: Persistent postural-perception dizziness (PPPD) is a chronic subjective form of dizziness characterized by the exacerbation of dizziness with active or passive movement, complex visual stimuli, and upright posture. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in patients with PPPD using fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) and evaluate the correlation between abnormal regions in the brain and clinical features to investigate the pathogenesis of PPPD. Methods: Thirty patients with PPPD (19 females and 11 males) and 30 healthy controls (HCs; 18 females and 12 males) were closely matched for age and sex. The fALFF and VMHC methods were used to investigate differences in fMRI (BOLD sequences) between the PPPD and HC groups and to explore the associations between areas of functional abnormality and clinical characteristics (dizziness, anxiety, depression, and duration). Result: Compared to the HC group, patients with PPPD displayed different functional change patterns, with increased fALFF in the right precuneus and decreased VMHC in the bilateral precuneus. In addition, patients with PPPD had a positive correlation between precuneus fALFF values and dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) scores, and a negative correlation between VMHC values and the disease duration. Conclusions: Precuneus dysfunction was observed in patients with PPPD. The fALFF values correlated with the degree of dizziness in PPPD, and changes in VMHC values were associated with the duration of dizziness, suggesting that fMRI changes in the precuneus of patients could be used as a potential imaging marker for PPPD.

Structural and functional brain alterations in subthreshold depression: A multimodal coordinate-based meta-analysis

Imaging studies of subthreshold depression (StD) have reported structural and functional abnormalities in a variety of spatially diverse brain regions. However, there is no consensus among different studies. In the present study, we applied a multimodal meta-analytic approach, the Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE), to test the hypothesis that StD exhibits spatially convergent structural and functional brain abnormalities compared to healthy controls. A total of 31 articles with 25 experiments were included, collectively representing 1001 subjects with StD. We found consistent differences between StD and healthy controls mainly in the left insula across studies with various neuroimaging methods. Further exploratory analyses found structural atrophy and decreased functional activities in the right pallidum and thalamus in StD, and abnormal spontaneous activity converged to the middle frontal gyrus. Coordinate-based meta-analysis found spatially convergent structural and functional impairments in StD. These findings provide novel insights for understanding the neural underpinnings of subthreshold depression and enlighten the potential targets for its early screening and therapeutic interventions in the future.

Alterations in functional connectivity in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain after motor control exercise: a randomized trial

BACKGROUND

Motor control exercise (MCE) is effective in alleviating non-specific chronic low back pain (NCLBP). Neuro-imaging research is warranted to explore the underlying neural mechanisms of MCE.

AIM

We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to explore the central mechanism underpinning the effects of MCE in patients with NCLBP.

DESIGN

A randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial.

SETTING

The setting was out-patient and community.

POPULATION

Fifty-eight patients with NCLBP.

METHODS

Patients were randomized into the MCE or manual therapy (MT) group. All the participants completed pain-related clinical assessments and rs-fMRI scans before and after intervention. We performed exploratory whole-brain analyses in regional homogeneity (ReHo) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) with significant post-pre differences in ReHo before and after intervention, and investigated associations between imaging and pain-related clinical assessments.

RESULTS

Compared with the MT group, a greater alleviation in pain intensity and disability was observed in the MCE group after intervention, and was sustained at the 6-month follow-up (P<0.001). Only the MCE group showed increased ReHo values in the right pre-central gyrus and decreased ReHo values in the bilateral posterior cerebellum (voxel level P<0.001, cluster-level FWE corrected P<0.05). Decreased rsFC of the right posterior cerebellum-left superior parietal gyrus and left insula were significantly positively associated with pain-related disability (voxel level P<0.001, cluster-level FWE corrected P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrated that MCE had superior effects in relieving pain and pain-related disability, which might be associated with its modulation of rsFC between the cerebellum and areas involved in sensory-discriminative processing of noxious and somato-sensory stimuli, affection, and cognition.

CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT

This study provided preliminary evidence that MCE might alleviate NCLBP through its modulation of the function of brain areas related to chronic pain and postural control. Those results support MCE's clinical application and help physiotherapists to provide better multidisciplinary interventions with the combination of MCE and other first-line treatments.

Modulatory effects of aerobic training on the degree centrality of brain functional activity in subthreshold depression

BACKGROUND

Aerobic training has been shown to effectively prevent the progression of depressive symptoms from subthreshold depression (StD) to major depressive disorder (MDD), and understanding how aerobic training promotes changes in neuroplasticity is essential to comprehending its antidepressant effects. Few studies, however, have quantified the alterations in spontaneous brain activity before and after aerobic training for StD.

METHODS

Participants included 44 individuals with StD and 34 healthy controls (HCs). Both groups underwent moderate aerobic training for eight weeks, and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were collected before and after training. The degree centrality (DC) changes between the two groups and the DC changes in each group before and after training were quantified.

RESULTS

The rs-fMRI results showed that compared with the HCs, the DC values of the StD group in the orbital region of the left inferior frontal gyrus significantly depreciated at baseline. After aerobic training, the results of the follow-up examination revealed no significant difference in the DC values between the two groups. In addition, compared with baseline, the StD group exhibited an significant decrease in the DC values of the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus; while the HCs group exhibited an significant decrease in the DC values of the left thalamus. No statistically significant connection was seen between changes in DC values and psychological scale scores in the StD group.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that regular aerobic training can enhance brain plasticity in StD. In addition, we demonstrated that DC is a relevant and accessible method for evaluating the functional plasticity of the brain induced by aerobic training in StD.

Research on adults with subthreshold depression after aerobic exercise: a resting-state fMRI study based on regional homogeneity (ReHo)

Objective

Subthreshold depression (StD)/subsyndromal depression refers to a threatening precursor to depression. Aerobic exercise is a promising self-supportive adjunctive intervention and an effective measure for StD. Our study utilizes regional homogeneity (ReHo) to investigate the impact of aerobic exercise on resting-state brain function.

Methods

A total of 78 subjects, aged between 18 and 48 years, (StD group, n = 44; healthy control (HC) group, n = 34) engaged in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise 3-4 times per week for 8 weeks. Resting-state brain function and structural images were acquired before and after the exercise intervention. The ReHo method was employed to analyze abnormal changes in regional brain function, and a correlation analysis was performed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) scores.

Results

The principal observation reveals synchronous abnormalities in the right anterior cingulate gyrus of the brain in StD subjects compared to HCs at baseline, with these differences dissipating after the implementation of aerobic exercise. After completing the aerobic exercise program, the StD group exhibited a difference in the right middle cingulate gyrus, while the left supplementary motor area (SMA) was altered in the HC group.

Conclusion

Disparities in neural synchronization are evident between HCs and StD subjects, and the implementation of aerobic exercise intervention can effectively mitigate these distinctions, leading to a significant reduction in depressive symptoms among StD subjects. The primary mechanism of StD symptoms may involve the inhibition of the anterior cingulate gyrus, while the effects of aerobic exercise may be related to the modulation of neural synchronization of emotional reflexes. The discovery of these fMRI evidence findings may offer novel strategies for early detection and intervention in cases of StD.

The Epworth sleepiness scale may have more advantages than the multiple sleep latency test in assessing sleepiness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

This study aimed to analyze the brain function of severe obstructive sleep apnea patients with various sleepiness assessment methods and explore the brain imaging basis for the differences between these methods. This study included 30 severe obstructive sleep apnea patients and 19 healthy controls. Obstructive sleep apnea patients were divided into a subjective excessive daytime sleepiness group and a subjective non-excessive daytime sleepiness group according to the Epworth sleepiness scale. Moreover, they were divided into an objective excessive daytime sleepiness group and an objective non-excessive daytime sleepiness group according to the multiple sleep latency test. The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation was used to assess the features of brain function. Compared with healthy controls, participants in the subjective excessive daytime sleepiness group exhibited higher fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation signals in the right thalamus, left cerebellar lobe 6, left putamen, and pallidum. Participants in the objective excessive daytime sleepiness group showed higher fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation signals in the right thalamus and lower fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation signals in the right superior frontal gyrus, the dorsolateral and superior frontal gyrus, and the medial orbital. We concluded that the thalamus may be involved in subjective and objective sleepiness regulation. Functional abnormalities in the putamen and pallidum may be involved in subjective sleepiness, whereas the frontal lobe may be involved in objective sleepiness.

Association between depressive symptoms and dynamic balance among young adults in the community

Background

Detecting and addressing depression symptoms at their outset can reduce the burden on individuals and society; however, it has a limitation in that such evaluations mainly rely on self-reports. Several studies have demonstrated a strong association between motor symptoms and early depression. We aimed to associate body balance measured by the Lower Quarter Y Balance Test (YBT-LQ) with depressive symptoms among young adults in the community, to confirm the current evidence that depression negatively influences body balance.

Research question

Is the YBT-LQ an objective tool for measuring and evaluating young adults' depression risks, as well as assessing whether depression negatively influences body balance?

Methods

Our participants comprised 36 young adults. We assessed their depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) via a Google survey, measured their body balance with the YBT-LQ, and analyzed data with Spearman's rank-order correlation coefficient test, using SPSS version 27.0.

Results

We found that the right leg's anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral scores- Z = -2.129, p = .033; Z = -2.181, p = .029; and Z = -2.250, p = .024, respectively-and composite scores-Z = 73.00, p = .027 -were significantly lower in the group with risk for clinical depression compared to the normal group. The CES-D total score had a negative association with all YBT-LQ scores, except for the anterior score of the left leg. Among the CES-D sub-factors, somatic and retarded activity showed negative correlations with all the YBT-LQ scores.

Significance

Our findings revealed that depressive symptoms have a negative association with balance, and that the YBT-LQ can be a reliable tool for measuring motor symptoms of depression, specifically among young adults.

Functional connectivity patterns in parosmia

OBJECTIVE

Parosmia is a qualitative olfactory dysfunction presenting as "distorted odor perception" in presence of an odor source. Aim of this study was to use resting state functional connectivity to gain more information on the alteration of olfactory processing at the level of the central nervous system level.

METHODS

A cross sectional study was performed in 145 patients with parosmia (age range 20-76 years; 90 women). Presence and degree of parosmia was diagnosed on the basis of standardized questionnaires. Participants also received olfactory testing using the "Sniffin' Sticks". Then they underwent resting state scans using a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging scanner while fixating on a cross.

RESULTS

Whole brain analyses revealed reduced functional connectivity in salience as well as executive control networks. Region of interest-based analyses also supported reduced functional connectivity measures between primary and secondary olfactory eloquent areas (temporal pole, supramarginal gyrus and right orbitofrontal cortex; dorso-lateral pre-frontal cortex and the right piriform cortex).

CONCLUSIONS

Participants with parosmia exhibited a reduced information flow between memory, decision making centers, and primary and secondary olfactory areas.

Move Your Body, Boost Your Brain: The Positive Impact of Physical Activity on Cognition across All Age Groups

While the physical improvements from exercise have been well documented over the years, the impact of physical activity on mental health has recently become an object of interest. Physical exercise improves cognition, particularly attention, memory, and executive functions. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects have yet to be fully understood. Consequently, we conducted a narrative literature review concerning the association between acute and chronic physical activity and cognition to provide an overview of exercise-induced benefits during the lifetime of a person. Most previous papers mainly reported exercise-related greater expression of neurotransmitter and neurotrophic factors. Recently, structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques allowed for the detection of increased grey matter volumes for specific brain regions and substantial modifications in the default mode, frontoparietal, and dorsal attention networks following exercise. Here, we highlighted that physical activity induced significant changes in functional brain activation and cognitive performance in every age group and could counteract psychological disorders and neural decline. No particular age group gained better benefits from exercise, and a specific exercise type could generate better cognitive improvements for a selected target subject. Further research should develop appropriate intervention programs concerning age and comorbidity to achieve the most significant cognitive outcomes.

Application of magnetic resonance imaging-related techniques in the diagnosis of sepsis-associated encephalopathy: present status and prospect

Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) refers to diffuse brain dysfunction secondary to systemic infection without central nervous system infection. The early diagnosis of SAE remains a major clinical problem, and its diagnosis is still exclusionary. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) related techniques, such as magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), molecular MRI (mMRI), arterial spin-labeling (ASL), fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), currently provide new options for the early identification of SAE. This review collected clinical and basic research and case reports related to SAE and MRI-related techniques in recent years, summarized and analyzed the basic principles and applications of MRI technology in diagnosing SAE, and provided a basis for diagnosing SAE by MRI-related techniques.

Frequency specificity in the amplitude of low frequency oscillations in patients with white matter lesions

Previous studies have reported that patients with white matter lesions (WMLs) have abnormal spontaneous brain activity in the resting state. However, the spontaneous neuronal activity of specific frequency bands in WMLs patients is unknown. Here, we included 16 WMLs patients and 13 gender and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scan and studied the specificity of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) in WMLs patients in the slow-5 (0.01-0.027 Hz), slow-4 (0.027-0.073 Hz), and typical (0.01-0.08 Hz) frequency bands. In addition, ALFF values of different frequency bands were extracted as classification features and support vector machines (SVM) were used to classify WMLs patients. In all three frequency bands, significant increases in ALFF values in WMLs patients were observed in the cerebellum. In the slow-5 band, the ALFF values of the left anterior cingulate and paracingulate gyri (ACG), and the right precentral gyrus, rolandic operculum and inferior temporal gyrus in WMLs patients were lower than those in HCs. In the slow-4 band, ALFF values were lower in WMLs patients than in HCs at the left ACG, the right median cingulate and paracingulate gyri, parahippocampal gyrus, caudate nucleus, and the bilateral lenticular nucleus, putamen. In the SVM classification model, the classification accuracy of slow-5, slow-4 and typical frequency bands is 75.86%, 86.21% and 72.41%, respectively. The results indicate that the ALFF abnormalities in WMLs patients have frequency specificity, and the ALFF abnormalities in the slow-4 frequency band may serve as imaging markers for WMLs.

Altered static and dynamic spontaneous neural activity in patients with ischemic pontine stroke

Objective

The purpose of the study was to investigate the abnormality both of static spontaneous brain activity and dynamic temporal variances following a pontine infarction.

Methods

Forty-six patients with chronic left pontine infarction (LPI), thirty-two patients with chronic right pontine infarction (RPI), and fifty healthy controls (HCs) were recruited for the study. The static amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (sALFF), static regional homogeneity (sReHo), dynamic ALFF (dALFF), and dynamic ReHo (dReHo) were employed to detect the alterations in brain activity induced by an infarction. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and Flanker task were used to evaluate the verbal memory and visual attention function, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to reveal the potential capacity of these metrics to distinguish the patients from HCs.

Results

There were significant variations of these static and dynamic metrics in patients with chronic pontine infarction. The altered regions involved the supratentorial regions, including cortex and subcortical. Moreover, the altered metrics were significantly correlated with verbal memory and visual attention. In addition, these static and dynamic metrics also showed potential in distinguishing stroke patients with behavior deficits from HCs.

Conclusion

The pontine infarction-induced cerebral activation changes are observed in both motor and cognitive systems, indicating the functional damage and reorganization across the global cerebral level in these patients with subtentorial infarction, and there is a reciprocal effect between motor and cognitive impairment and repair.

Disrupted metabolic and spontaneous neuronal activity of hippocampus in sepsis associated encephalopathy rats: A study combining magnetic resonance spectroscopy and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging

BACKGROUND

The diagnosis of sepsis associated encephalopathy (SAE) remains challenging in clinical settings because of a lack of specific biomarkers. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) can be used to aid in the diagnosis of cognition related diseases. This study investigated changes in functional activities and brain metabolites in the hippocampus in SAE rats by fMRI and 1H-MRS.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Sepsis associated encephalopathy rats underwent cecal ligation and perforation (CLP) surgery. The Morris water maze (MWM) test was then used to evaluate cognitive function. Resting state-fMRI and 1H-MRS scanning were performed 7 and 14 days after CLP surgery to reveal spontaneous neuronal activity and metabolite changes in the hippocampus. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) was used to evaluate spontaneous neuronal activity in the hippocampus. Creatine (Cr), Myo-inositol (mI), and glutamine/glutamate (Glx) levels were measured with 1H-MRS scanning. Immunofluorescence and levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, interleukin (IL)-6, and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the hippocampus were additionally detected to evaluate microglial mediated inflammatory responses. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate correlations between hippocampal metabolism and behavioral findings.

RESULTS

Cecal ligation and perforation treated rats exhibited impaired learning and memory function in the MWM test at days 7 and 14. Elevation of IL-1β in the hippocampus, as well as immunofluorescence results, confirmed severe neuro inflammation in the hippocampus in SAE rats. Compared with the sham group, the ALFF of the right CA-1 area of the hippocampus was higher at day 7after CLP surgery. The Glx/Cr and mI/Cr ratios were enhanced at day 7 after CLP surgery and slightly lower at day 14 after CLP surgery. The ALFF value, and Glx/Cr and mI/Cr ratios were negatively correlated with time spent in the target quadrant in the MWM test.

CONCLUSION

Spontaneous neuronal activity and metabolites showed significant alterations in SAE rats. The elevated ALFF value, Glx/Cr ratio, and mI/Cr ratio in the hippocampus were positively associated with cognitive deficits. Changes in ALFF and metabolites in hippocampus may serve as potential neuroimaging biomarkers of cognitive disorders in patients with SAE.

Aerobic exercise training and neurocognitive function in cognitively normal older adults: A one-year randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Current evidence is inconsistent on the benefits of aerobic exercise training for preventing or attenuating age-related cognitive decline in older adults.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effects of a 1-year progressive, moderate-to-high intensity aerobic exercise intervention on cognitive function, brain volume, and cortical thickness in sedentary but otherwise healthy older adults.

METHODS

We randomized 73 older adults to a 1-year aerobic exercise or stretching-and-toning (active control) program. The primary outcome was a cognitive composite score calculated from eight neuropsychological tests encompassing inductive reasoning, long-term and working memory, executive function, and processing speed. Secondary outcomes were brain volume and cortical thickness assessed by MRI, and cardiorespiratory fitness measured by peak oxygen uptake (VO2 ).

RESULTS

One-year aerobic exercise increased peak VO2 by ∼10% (p < 0.001) while it did not change with stretching (p = 0.241). Cognitive composite scores increased in both the aerobic and stretching groups (p < 0.001 for time effect), although no group difference was observed. Total brain volume (p < 0.001) and mean cortical thickness (p = 0.001) decreased in both groups over time, while the reduction in hippocampal volume was smaller in the stretching group compared with the aerobic group (p = 0.040 for interaction). Across all participants, improvement in peak VO2 was positively correlated with increases in cognitive composite score (r = 0.282, p = 0.042) and regional cortical thickness at the inferior parietal lobe (p = 0.016).

CONCLUSIONS

One-year aerobic exercise and stretching interventions improved cognitive performance but did not prevent age-related brain volume loss in sedentary healthy older adults. Cardiorespiratory fitness gain was positively correlated with cognitive performance and regional cortical thickness.

Improved response inhibition induced by attentional capture is associated with physical activity

The ability to stop a response promptly when a stop signal is presented is named response inhibition. It is generally accepted that the process of response inhibition requires a subject to pay attention to the stop instruction and then cancel the action. A wealth of converging evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) can promote response inhibition, but the potential contributions of attentional capture to the relationship between PA and response inhibition are currently unknown. In this study, the standard stop-signal task (SST) and two novel versions of the SST were used to solve this gap. A total of 58 college students were divided into a higher PA group and a lower PA group, respectively. In Experiment 1, the classical SST determined that the participants in the higher PA group displayed a significantly faster stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) than those in the lower PA group. Experiment 2 separated the attentional capture in the SST and revealed that the participants in the higher PA group could detect the signal faster than those in the lower PA group. Experiment 3 further added a stop signal to Experiment 2 and demonstrated that the participants in the higher PA group could more effectively deploy attentional resources to complete the task. Overall, these findings indicate that PA is positively associated with response inhibition and that the positive relationship is associated with effective allocation of attentional resources for faster attentional capture.

Investigation on Depression of College Students Majoring in Physical Education and Nonphysical Education: A StudyBased on the Age Region and Gender of 374 Students

In the research on the relationship between depression and college students' major, there are some differences in the degree of depression between sports major and nonsports major students. Based on these results, we assume that there is the possibility of emotional differences between professional and nonprofessional sports. A total of 374 samples of students majoring in physical education and nonphysical education at the same university were analyzed by using the methods of literature review and data analysis. A total of 188 subjects, including 121 males and 253 females (186 majoring in sports and nonsports), were asked to fill in the SDS (Self-Rating Depression Scale). SDS is widely used in rough screening, emotional state evaluation, investigation, and scientific research of outpatients in clinical psychology departments. The research obtained the difference in depression degree in the whole sample and further compared the depression degree of students of different ages and native places. Statistical analysis was performed on all data using SPSS 23.0 software. Basic data description, paired chi-square analysis, and covariance analysis were used. The results show that in this sample, the maximum value (minimum/maximum value) of one item of the total depression score of nonphysical education students exceeds the average value by 3 standard deviations, and this shows that the general level of depression scores of non-PE majors is high; most non-PE majors are in mild depression, which is equal to the number of PE majors who are in a normal mood; and nonsports majors in cities are more likely to have mild depression.

Aberrant amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in different frequency bands and changes after one-night positive airway pressure treatment in severe obstructive sleep apnea

Objective

This study was aimed to investigate the characteristics of the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) at specific frequencies in severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. A comparison was made between pre-CPAP treatment and one night after continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment.

Methods

30 severe OSA patients and 19 healthy controls (HC) were recruited. The ALFF method was used to assess the local features of spontaneous brain activity and calculated at different bands (slow-5 and slow-4). A correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between the changes of the ALFF and polysomnography data.

Results

Compared with HC, in slow-5 frequency band, OSA patients showed significantly decreased ALFF in the left inferior temporal gyrus, and significantly increased ALFF in the left middle frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, triangular part, right superior frontal gyrus, dorsolateral and right middle temporal gyrus. In slow-4 frequency, there was significantly decreased ALFF in the right inferior temporal gyrus, and significantly increased ALFF in the left precuneus, right posterior cingulate gyrus and right median cingulate besides the slow-5 difference band showed. Compared with pre-CPAP, we found that after CPAP treatment, ALFF signals in the left insula in slow-5 and left caudate in slow-4 increased, but the calcarine in slow-4 significantly reduced. Correlation analysis showed that the left angular slow-4 band change was positively correlated with the slow wave sleep change (r = 0.4933, p = 0.0056). The left cerebellum 6 slow-5 band change was positively correlated with the duration of the REM sleep change (r = 0.4563, p = 0.0113), and the left cerebellum 6 slow-4 band change was also positively correlated with the mean blood oxygen change in the REM (r = 0.4591, p = 0.0107) and NREM sleep (r = 0.4492, p = 0.0128).

Conclusion

We found that the use of slow-4 was more specific in OSA studies. These results suggested that the severe OSA patients have frequency-related abnormal spontaneous neural activity, which may contribute to a better understanding of the pathological basis of OSA-related diseases and provide a potential therapeutic target for OSA patients.

Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in multiple-frequency bands in patients with intracranial tuberculosis: a prospective cross-sectional study

Background

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) is widely used to study brain functional alteration, but there have been no reports of research regarding the application of rs-fMRI in intracranial tuberculosis. The purpose of this prospective, cross-sectional study was to investigate spontaneous neural activity at different frequency bands in patients with intracranial tuberculosis using rs-fMRI with amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF) methods.

Methods

The rs-fMRI data of 31 patients with intracranial tuberculosis and 30 gender-, age-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) were included. The ALFF and fALFF values in the conventional frequency band (0.01-0.08 Hz) and 2 sub-frequency bands (slow-4: 0.027-0.073 Hz; slow-5: 0.01-0.027 Hz) were calculated and compared between the groups. The resultant T-maps were corrected using the Gaussian random field (GRF) theory (voxel P<0.01, cluster P<0.05). Correlations between the ALFF and fALFF values and neurocognitive scores were assessed.

Results

Compared with the HCs, patients with intracranial tuberculosis showed decreased ALFF in the right paracentral lobule (T=-4.69) in the conventional frequency band, in the right supplementary motor area (T=-4.85) in the slow-4 band, and in the left supplementary motor area (T=-3.76) in the slow-5 band. Compared to the slow-5 band, the voxels with decreased ALFF were spatially more extensive in the slow-4 band. Compared with HCs, patients with intracranial tuberculosis showed decreased fALFF in the opercular parts of the right inferior frontal gyrus (T=-4.50) and the left inferior parietal lobe (T=-4.86) and increased fALFF in the left inferior cerebellum (T=5.84) in the conventional frequency band. In the slow-4 band, fALFF decreased in the opercular parts of the right inferior frontal gyrus (T=-5.29) and right precuneus (T=-4.34). In the slow-5 band, fALFF decreased in the left middle occipital gyrus (T=-4.65) and right middle frontal gyrus (T=-5.05).

Conclusions

Patients with intracranial tuberculosis showed abnormal intrinsic brain activity at different frequency bands, and ALFF abnormalities in different brain regions could be better detected in the slow-4 band. This preliminary study might provide new insights into understanding the pathophysiological mechanism in intracranial tuberculosis.

Neural mechanism of the relationship between sleep efficiency and clinical improvement in major depressive disorder: A longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging study

BACKGROUND

Antidepressants represent the most common treatment of choice for major depressive disorder (MDD). In this study, we aimed to explore the status-related changes (acute vs. remitted status) in brain function in patients with MDD.

METHODS

Regular antidepressant medications (an average of 7 months after the initial visit, remitted status) were received by 48 patients with MDD. All the patients underwent MRI and polysomnography examinations as well as clinical assessment at each visit.

RESULTS

We found that baseline fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) of right superior parietal gyrus (SPG) and middle frontal gyrus could predict depression and anxiety symptoms improvement from acute to remitted status in patients with MDD, respectively. Moreover, we found a significant positive correlation between the fALFF of right SPG and baseline sleep efficiency (SE) in patients with MDD. Further mediation analysis revealed that the fALFF of right SPG mediated the relationship between baseline SE and depressive symptom improvement.

CONCLUSION

Apart from highlighting the fALFF as a potential prognostic indicator to predict and track disease progression in patients with MDD, these findings might provide a neural mechanism basis for improving sleep quality of patients with MDD and thus promoting the recovery of clinical symptoms, as well as provide a practical basis for clinical interventions in patients with MDD with sleep disorders.