Structural and functional deficits and couplings in the cortico-striato-thalamo-cerebellar circuitry in social anxiety disorder

Alterations in cortical thickness of frontoparietal regions in patients with social anxiety disorder

Although functional changes of the frontal and (para)limbic area for emotional hyper-reactivity and emotional dysregulation are well documented in social anxiety disorder (SAD), prior studies on structural changes have shown mixed results. This study aimed to identify differences in cortical thickness between SAD and healthy controls (CON). Thirty-five patients with SAD and forty-two matched CON underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. A vertex-based whole brain and regional analyses were conducted for between-group comparison. The whole-brain analysis revealed increased cortical thickness in the left insula, left superior parietal lobule, left superior temporal gyrus, and left frontopolar cortex in patients with SAD compared to CON, as well as decreased thickness in the left superior/middle frontal gyrus and left fusiform gyrus in patients (after multiple-correction). The results from the ROI analysis did not align with these findings at the statistically significant level after multiple corrections. Changes in cortical thickness were not correlated with social anxiety symptoms. While consistent results were not obtained from different analysis methods, the results from the whole-brain analysis suggest that patients with SAD exhibit distinct neural deficits in areas involved in salience, attention, and socioemotional processing.

Habenula Volume and Functional Connectivity Changes Following Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy for Obesity Treatment

BACKGROUND

Neuroimaging studies have revealed alterations in habenular (Hb) structure and functional connectivity (FC) in psychiatric conditions. The Hb plays a particularly critical role in regulating negative emotions, which trigger excessive food intake and obesity. However, obesity and weight loss intervention (i.e., laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy [LSG])-associated changes in Hb structure and FC have not been studied.

METHODS

We used voxel-based morphometry analysis to measure changes in gray matter volume (GMV) in the Hb in 56 patients with obesity at pre-LSG and 12 months post-LSG and in 78 normal-weight (NW) control participants. Then, we conducted Hb seed-based resting-state FC (RSFC) to examine obesity-related and LSG-induced alterations in RSFC. Finally, we used mediation analysis to characterize the interrelationships among Hb GMV, RSFC, and behaviors.

RESULTS

Compared with NW participants, Hb GMV was smaller in patients at pre-LSG and increased at 12 months post-LSG to levels equivalent to that of NW; in addition, increases in Hb GMV were correlated with reduced body mass index (BMI). Compared with NW participants, pre-LSG patients showed greater RSFCs of the Hb-insula, Hb-precentral gyrus, and Hb-rolandic operculum and weaker RSFCs of the Hb-thalamus, Hb-hypothalamus, and Hb-caudate; LSG normalized these RSFCs. Decreased RSFC of the Hb-insula was correlated with reduced BMI, Yale Food Addiction Scale rating, and emotional eating; reduced hunger levels were correlated with increased RSFCs of the Hb-thalamus and Hb-hypothalamus; and reduced BMI and Yale Food Addiction Scale ratings were correlated with increased RSFCs of the Hb-thalamus and Hb-hypothalamus, respectively. The bidirectional relationships between Hb GMV and RSFC of the Hb-insula contributed to reduced BMI.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that LSG increased Hb GMV and that its related improvement in RSFC of the Hb-insula may mediate long-term benefits of LSG for eating behaviors and weight loss.

Structural-functional brain network coupling predicts human cognitive ability

Individual differences in general cognitive ability (GCA) have a biological basis within the structure and function of the human brain. Network neuroscience investigations revealed neural correlates of GCA in structural as well as in functional brain networks. However, whether the relationship between structural and functional networks, the structural-functional brain network coupling (SC-FC coupling), is related to individual differences in GCA remains an open question. We used data from 1030 adults of the Human Connectome Project, derived structural connectivity from diffusion weighted imaging, functional connectivity from resting-state fMRI, and assessed GCA as a latent g-factor from 12 cognitive tasks. Two similarity measures and six communication measures were used to model possible functional interactions arising from structural brain networks. SC-FC coupling was estimated as the degree to which these measures align with the actual functional connectivity, providing insights into different neural communication strategies. At the whole-brain level, higher GCA was associated with higher SC-FC coupling, but only when considering path transitivity as neural communication strategy. Taking region-specific variations in the SC-FC coupling strategy into account and differentiating between positive and negative associations with GCA, allows for prediction of individual cognitive ability scores in a cross-validated prediction framework (correlation between predicted and observed scores: r = 0.25, p < .001). The same model also predicts GCA scores in a completely independent sample (N = 567, r = 0.19, p < .001). Our results propose structural-functional brain network coupling as a neurobiological correlate of GCA and suggest brain region-specific coupling strategies as neural basis of efficient information processing predictive of cognitive ability.

A distinctive subcortical functional connectivity pattern linking negative affect and treatment outcome in major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with functional disturbances in subcortical regions. In this naturalistic prospective study (NCT03294525), we aimed to investigate relationships among subcortical functional connectivity (FC), mood symptom profiles and treatment outcome in MDD using multivariate methods. Medication-free participants with MDD (n = 135) underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan at baseline and completed posttreatment clinical assessment after 8 weeks of antidepressant monotherapy. We used partial least squares (PLS) correlation analysis to explore the association between subcortical FC and mood symptom profiles. FC score, reflecting the weighted representation of each individual in this association, was computed. Replication analysis was undertaken in an independent sample (n = 74). We also investigated the relationship between FC score and treatment outcome in the main sample. A distinctive subcortical connectivity pattern was found to be associated with negative affect. In general, higher FC between the caudate, putamen and thalamus was associated with greater negative affect. This association was partly replicated in the independent sample (similarity between the two samples: r = 0.66 for subcortical connectivity, r = 0.75 for mood symptom profile). Lower FC score predicted both remission and response to treatment after 8 weeks of antidepressant monotherapy. The emphasis here on the role of dorsal striatum and thalamus consolidates prior work of subcortical connectivity in MDD. The findings provide insight into the pathogenesis of MDD, linking subcortical FC with negative affect. However, while the FC score significantly predicted treatment outcome, the low odds ratio suggests that finding predictive biomarkers for depression remains an aspiration.

Paternal Prenatal and Lactation Exposure to a High-Calorie Diet Shapes Transgenerational Brain Macro- and Microstructure Defects, Impacting Anxiety-Like Behavior in Male Offspring Rats

Prenatal exposure to high-energy diets (HED) increases the susceptibility to behavioral alterations in the male offspring. We addressed whether prenatal HED primes the transgenerational inheritance of structural brain changes impacting anxiety/depression-like behavior in the offspring. For this, we used female Wistar rats exposed to a HED [cafeteria (CAF) diet, n = 6] or chow [control (CON) n = 6] during development. Anxiety and depression-like behavior were evaluated in filial 1 (F1), filial 2 (F2), and filial 3 (F3) male offspring using the open field (OFT), elevated plus maze, novelty suppressed feeding (NSFT), tail suspension (TST), and forced swimming tests. Structural brain changes were identified by deformation-based morphometry (DBM) and diffusion tensor imaging using ex vivo MRI. We found that the F1, F2, and F3 offspring exposed to CAF diet displayed higher anxious scores including longer feeding latency during the NSFT, and in the closed arms, only F1 offspring showed longer stay on edges during the OFT versus control offspring. DBM analysis revealed that CAF offspring exhibited altered volume in the cerebellum, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus preserved up to the F3 generation of anxious individuals. Also, F3 CAF anxious exhibited greater fractional anisotropy and axial diffusivity (AD) in the amygdala, greater apparent diffusion coefficient in the corpus callosum, and greater AD in the hippocampus with respect to the control. Our results suggest that prenatal and lactation exposure to HED programs the transgenerational inheritance of structural brain changes related to anxiety-like behavior in the male offspring.

Impact of Stress on Brain Morphology: Insights into Structural Biomarkers of Stress-related Disorders

Exposure to acute and chronic stress has a broad range of structural effects on the brain. The brain areas commonly targeted in the stress response models include the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the prefrontal cortex. Studies in patients suffering from the so-called stress-related disorders -embracing post-traumatic stress, major depressive and anxiety disorders- have fairly replicated animal models of stress response -particularly the neuroendocrine and the inflammatory models- by finding alterations in different brain areas, even in the early neurodevelopment. Therefore, this narrative review aims to provide an overview of structural neuroimaging findings and to discuss how these studies have contributed to our knowledge of variability in response to stress and the ulterior development of stress-related disorders. There are a gross number of studies available but neuroimaging research of stress-related disorders as a single category is still in its infancy. Although the available studies point at particular brain circuitries involved in stress and emotion regulation, the pathophysiology of these abnormalities -involving genetics, epigenetics and molecular pathways-, their relation to intraindividual stress responses -including personality characteristics, self-perception of stress conditions…-, and their potential involvement as biomarkers in diagnosis, treatment prescription and prognosis are discussed.

Neural correlates of social interaction anxiety and their relation to emotional intelligence: A resting-state fMRI study

Social interaction anxiety refers to a state of anxiety resulting from the prospect or presence of interpersonal evaluation in real or imagined social settings. Previous neuroimaging studies have revealed neural basis of social anxiety disorder. However, little is known about the neural correlates of individual differences in social interaction anxiety in nonclinical population. In the present study, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the relationship between individual's spontaneous neural activity and social interaction anxiety, and the role that emotional intelligence played in the relationship. To this end, the correlation between the regional fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) of the brain and individuals' social interaction anxiety scores was examined. We found that social interaction anxiety was correlated with the fALFF in the insula, parahippocampal gyrus, bilateral superior temporal gyrus, and superior parietal lobule. Furthermore, we also found that emotional intelligence partially mediated the association between the fALFF in these regions and social interaction anxiety. Taken together, our study provided the first evidence for the spontaneous neural basis of social interaction anxiety in normal population, and highlighted the neural substrates through which emotional intelligence might play an important role in social interaction anxiety.

Pre-COVID resting-state brain activity in the fusiform gyrus prospectively predicts social anxiety alterations during the pandemic

BACKGROUND

Social anxiety (SA) has been linked to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but the neurobiopsychological mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the neurofunctional markers for COVID-induced SA development and the potential role of COVID-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in the brain-SA alterations link.

METHODS

Before the COVID-19 pandemic (T1), 100 general college students underwent resting-state magnetic resonance imaging and behavioral tests. During the period of community-level outbreaks (T2), these students were re-contacted to undergo follow-up behavioral assessments.

RESULTS

Whole-brain correlation and prediction analyses found that pre-pandemic spontaneous neural activity (measured by fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations) in the right fusiform gyrus (FG) was positively correlated to SA alterations (T2 - T1). Mediation analyses revealed that COVID-specific PTSS mediated the effects of right FG on SA alterations.

LIMITATIONS

The results should be interpreted carefully because only one-session neuroimaging data in a sample of normal adults were included.

CONCLUSIONS

The results provide evidence for neurofunctional markers of COVID-induced SA and may help develop targeted brain-based interventions that reduce SA.

Grey matter structural alterations in anxiety disorders: a voxel-based meta-analysis

Anxiety disorders (ADs) are a group of prevalent and destructive mental illnesses, but the current understanding of their underlying neuropathology is still unclear. Employing voxel-based morphometry (VBM), previous studies have demonstrated several common brain regions showing grey matter volume (GMV) abnormalities. However, contradictory results have been reported among these studies. Considering that different subtypes of ADs exhibit common core symptoms despite different diagnostic criteria, and previous meta-analyses have found common core GMV-altered brain regions in ADs, the present research aimed to combine the results of individual studies to identify common GMV abnormalities in ADs. Therefore, we first performed a systematic search in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science on studies investigating GMV differences between patients with ADs and healthy controls (HCs). Then, the anisotropic effect-size signed differential mapping (AES-SDM) was applied in this meta-analysis. A total of 24 studies (including 25 data sets) were included in the current study, and 906 patients with ADs and 1003 HCs were included. Compared with the HCs, the patients with ADs showed increased GMV in the left superior parietal gyrus, right angular gyrus, left precentral gyrus, and right lingual gyrus, and decreased GMV in the bilateral insula, bilateral thalamus, left caudate, and right putamen. In conclusion, the current study has identified some abnormal GMV brain regions that are related to the pathological mechanisms of anxiety disorders. These findings could contribute to a better understanding of the underlying neuropathology of ADs.

Individual cognitive therapy reduces frontal-thalamic resting-state functional connectivity in social anxiety disorder

Introduction

Previous neuroimaging studies in social anxiety disorders (SAD) have reported potential neural predictors of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-related brain changes. However, several meta-analyses have demonstrated that cognitive therapy (CT) was superior to traditional exposure-based CBT for SAD.

Objective

To explore resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) to evaluate the response to individual CT for SAD patients.

Methods

Twenty SAD patients who attended 16-week individual CT were scanned pre- and post-therapy along with twenty healthy controls (HCs). The severity of social anxiety was assessed with the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). Multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) was performed on the pre-CT data to extract regions associated with a change in LSAS (∆LSAS). Group comparisons of the seed-based rsFC analysis were performed between the HCs and pre-CT patients and between the pre-and post-CT patients.

Results

MVPA-based regression analysis revealed that rsFC between the left thalamus and the frontal pole/inferior frontal gyrus was significantly correlated with ∆LSAS (adjusted R2 = 0.65; p = 0.00002). Compared with HCs, the pre-CT patients had higher rsFCs between the thalamus and temporal pole and between the thalamus and superior/middle temporal gyrus/planum temporale (p < 0.05). The rsFC between the thalamus and the frontal pole decreased post-CT (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

SAD patients had significant rsFC between the thalamus and temporal pole, superior/middle temporal gyrus, and planum temporale, which may be indicators of extreme anxiety in social situations. In addition, rsFC between the thalamus and the frontal pole may be a neuromarker for the effectiveness of individual CT.

Gray matter abnormalities in patients with major depressive disorder and social anxiety disorder: a voxel-based meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Major depressive and social anxiety disorders have a high comorbidity rate and similar cognitive patterns. However, their unique and shared neuroanatomical characteristics have not been fully identified.

METHODS

Voxel-based morphometric studies comparing gray matter volume between patients with major depressive disorder/social anxiety disorder and healthy controls were searched using 4 electronic databases from the inception to March 2022. Stereotactic data were extracted and subsequently tested for convergence and differences using activation likelihood estimation. In addition, based on the result of the meta-analysis, behavioral analysis was performed to assess the functional roles of the regions affected by major depressive disorder and/or social anxiety disorder.

RESULTS

In total, 34 studies on major depressive disorder with 2873 participants, and 10 studies on social anxiety disorder with 1004 subjects were included. Gray matter volume conjunction analysis showed that the right parahippocampal gyrus region, especially the amygdala, was smaller in patients compared to healthy controls. The contrast analysis of major depressive disorder and social anxiety disorder revealed lower gray matter volume in the right lentiform nucleus and medial frontal gyrus in social anxiety disorder and lower gray matter volume in the left parahippocampal gyrus in major depressive disorder. Behavioral analysis showed that regions with lower gray matter volume in social anxiety disorder are strongly associated with negative emotional processes.

CONCLUSIONS

The shared and unique patterns of gray matter volume abnormalities in patients with major depressive and social anxiety disorder may be linked to the underlying neuropathogenesis of these mental illnesses and provide potential biomarkers. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42021277546.

Sex differences in the effects of trait anxiety and age on resting-state functional connectivities of the amygdala

Background

Numerous studies characterized how resting-state functional connectivities (rsFCs) of the amygdala were disrupted in emotional disorders and varied with emotional traits, including anxiety. With trait anxiety known to diminish with age, a critical issue concerns disambiguating the effects of age and anxiety on amygdala rsFCs in studying the neural bases of individual differences in anxiety.

Methods

Two-hundred adults (83 women) 19-85 years of age underwent fMRI and assessment for trait anxiety. Amygdala rsFC correlates were identified using multiple regression with age and anxiety in the same model for all and separately in men and women. The rsFC correlates were examined for age-anxiety interaction.

Results

Anxiety was negatively correlated with amygdala-temporooccipital gyri rsFC in all and in men alone. In women, amgydala rsFC with the thalamus/pallidum, angular/supramarginal gyri, inferior temporal gyrus, and posterior insula correlated positively and rsFC with calcarine cortex and caudate correlated negatively with anxiety. We also observed sex differences in age correlation of amgydala-posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus and -insula/temporoparietal rsFCs, with stronger associations in women. In women alone, anxiety and age interacted to determine amygdala rsFC with the thalamus/pallidum, calcarine cortex, and caudate, with older age associated with stronger correlation between anxiety and the rsFCs.

Limitations

The findings need to be validated in an independent sample and further explored using task-based data.

Conclusion

Highlighting anxiety- and age- specific as well as interacting correlates of amygdala rsFCs and sex differences in the correlates, the findings may shed light on the neural markers of anxiety.

Global Alterations of Whole Brain Structural Connectome in Parkinson's Disease: A Meta-analysis

Recent graph-theoretical studies of Parkinson's disease (PD) have examined alterations in the global properties of the brain structural connectome; however, reported alterations are not consistent. The present study aimed to identify the most robust global metric alterations in PD via a meta-analysis. A comprehensive literature search was conducted for all available diffusion MRI structural connectome studies that compared global graph metrics between PD patients and healthy controls (HC). Hedges' g effect sizes were calculated for each study and then pooled using a random-effects model in Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software, and the effects of potential moderator variables were tested. A total of 22 studies met the inclusion criteria for review. Of these, 16 studies reporting 10 global graph metrics (916 PD patients; 560 HC) were included in the meta-analysis. In the structural connectome of PD patients compared with HC, we found a significant decrease in clustering coefficient (g = -0.357, P = 0.005) and global efficiency (g = -0.359, P < 0.001), and a significant increase in characteristic path length (g = 0.250, P = 0.006). Dopaminergic medication, sex and age of patients were potential moderators of global brain network changes in PD. These findings provide evidence of decreased global segregation and integration of the structural connectome in PD, indicating a shift from a balanced small-world network to 'weaker small-worldization', which may provide useful markers of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying PD.

Pre-COVID brain network topology prospectively predicts social anxiety alterations during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background

Social anxiety (SA) is a negative emotional response that can lead to mental health issues, which some have experienced during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Little attention has been given to the neurobiological mechanisms underlying inter-individual differences in SA alterations related to COVID-19. This study aims to identify neurofunctional markers of COVID-specific SA development.

Methods

110 healthy participants underwent resting-state magnetic resonance imaging and behavioral tests before the pandemic (T1, October 2019 to January 2020) and completed follow-up behavioral measurements during the pandemic (T2, February to May 2020). We constructed individual functional networks and used graph theoretical analysis to estimate their global and nodal topological properties, then used Pearson correlation and partial least squares correlations examine their associations with COVID-specific SA alterations.

Results

In terms of global network parameters, SA alterations (T2-T1) were negatively related to pre-pandemic brain small-worldness and normalized clustering coefficient. In terms of nodal network parameters, SA alterations were positively linked to a pronounced degree centrality pattern, encompassing both the high-level cognitive networks (dorsal attention network, cingulo-opercular task control network, default mode network, memory retrieval network, fronto-parietal task control network, and subcortical network) and low-level perceptual networks (sensory/somatomotor network, auditory network, and visual network). These findings were robust after controlling for pre-pandemic general anxiety, other stressful life events, and family socioeconomic status, as well as by treating SA alterations as categorical variables.

Conclusions

The individual functional network associated with SA alterations showed a disrupted topological organization with a more random state, which may shed light on the neurobiological basis of COVID-related SA changes at the network level.

Brain-gut axis mechanism of subthreshold nonsuicidal self-injury addictive features in adolescents

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is associated with an increased risk of suicide. As the diagnostic criteria outlined in DSM-5 and other related clinical studies, a patient must have engaged in self-injurious behavior at least 5 times within the past year. However, patients with fewer than 5 self-injury behaviors should not be ignored. Our study included 46 adolescents aged 10-19 years with subthreshold NSSI (sNSSI), along with a control group of 50 healthy adolescents matched for age and other factors. We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data and stool samples. The Ottawa Self-Injury Inventory and Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory were used to evaluate self-harm behaviors and addictive features. Local brain activity was assessed using fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), and brain regions with abnormal fALFF were selected as seeds for whole-brain functional connectivity analysis. Stool samples were identified using 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing, and the LDA Effect Size method was used to explore significant differences between grouped samples. Mediation analysis was performed to investigate the brain-gut axis mechanisms of addictive features in sNSSI. We found that compared with healthy controls, sNSSI patients have abnormal fALFF in left thalamus and posterior cingulate cortex, dysconnectivities of left thalamus, and decreased Prevotellaceae. Our results suggested that addictive features of sNSSI may have a brain-gut mechanism. Furtherly, patients with 1-4 NSSI behaviors in the past year should have separate name for identification, such as "subthreshold NSSI".

Large-scale brain functional network abnormalities in social anxiety disorder

BACKGROUND

Although aberrant brain regional responses are reported in social anxiety disorder (SAD), little is known about resting-state functional connectivity at the macroscale network level. This study aims to identify functional network abnormalities using a multivariate data-driven method in a relatively large and homogenous sample of SAD patients, and assess their potential diagnostic value.

METHODS

Forty-six SAD patients and 52 demographically-matched healthy controls (HC) were recruited to undergo clinical evaluation and resting-state functional MRI scanning. We used group independent component analysis to characterize the functional architecture of brain resting-state networks (RSNs) and investigate between-group differences in intra-/inter-network functional network connectivity (FNC). Furtherly, we explored the associations of FNC abnormalities with clinical characteristics, and assessed their ability to discriminate SAD from HC using support vector machine analyses.

RESULTS

SAD patients showed widespread intra-network FNC abnormalities in the default mode network, the subcortical network and the perceptual system (i.e. sensorimotor, auditory and visual networks), and large-scale inter-network FNC abnormalities among those high-order and primary RSNs. Some aberrant FNC signatures were correlated to disease severity and duration, suggesting pathophysiological relevance. Furthermore, intrinsic FNC anomalies allowed individual classification of SAD v. HC with significant accuracy, indicating potential diagnostic efficacy.

CONCLUSIONS

SAD patients show distinct patterns of functional synchronization abnormalities both within and across large-scale RSNs, reflecting or causing a network imbalance of bottom-up response and top-down regulation in cognitive, emotional and sensory domains. Therefore, this could offer insights into the neurofunctional substrates of SAD.

Emotional intelligence mediates the protective role of the orbitofrontal cortex spontaneous activity measured by fALFF against depressive and anxious symptoms in late adolescence

As a stable personality construct, trait emotional intelligence (TEI) refers to a battery of perceived emotion-related skills that make individuals behave effectively to adapt to the environment and maintain well-being. Abundant evidence has consistently shown that TEI is important for the outcomes of many mental health issues, particularly depression and anxiety. However, the neural substrates involved in TEI and the underlying neurobehavioral mechanism of how TEI reduces depression and anxiety symptoms remain largely unknown. Herein, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and a group of behavioral measures were applied to examine these questions among a large sample comprising 231 general adolescent students aged 16-20 years (52% female). Whole-brain correlation analysis and prediction analysis demonstrated that TEI was negatively linked with spontaneous activity (measured with the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations) in the bilateral medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), a critical site implicated in emotion-related processes. Furthermore, structural equation modeling analysis found that TEI mediated the link of OFC spontaneous activity to depressive and anxious symptoms. Collectively, the current findings present new evidence for the neurofunctional bases of TEI and suggest a potential "brain-personality-symptom" pathway for alleviating depressive and anxious symptoms among students in late adolescence.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of resting-state fMRI in anxiety disorders: Need for data sharing to move the field forward

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric disorders. Neuroimaging findings remain uncertain, and resting state functional magnetic resonance (rs-fMRI) connectivity is of particular interest since it is a scalable functional imaging modality. Given heterogeneous past findings for rs-fMRI in anxious individuals, we characterize patterns across anxiety disorders by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis. Studies were included if they contained at the time of scanning both a healthy group and a patient group. Due to insufficient study numbers, the quantitative meta-analysis only included seed-based studies. We performed an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) analysis that compared patients and healthy volunteers. All analyses were corrected for family-wise error with a cluster-level threshold of p < .05. Patients exhibited hypo-connectivity between the amygdala and the medial frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate cortex, and cingulate gyrus. This finding, however, was not robust to potential file-drawer effects. Though limited by strict inclusion criteria, our results highlight the heterogeneous nature of reported findings. This underscores the need for data sharing when attempting to detect reliable patterns of disruption in brain activity across anxiety disorders.

Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) for the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders: Preclinical and Clinical Evidence

Anxiety disorders (ADs) represent the sixth leading cause of disability worldwide, resulting in a significant global economic burden. Over 50% of individuals with ADs do not respond to standard therapies, making the identification of more effective anxiolytic drugs an ongoing research priority. In this work, we review the preclinical literature concerning the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on anxiety-like behaviors in preclinical models, and the clinical literature on anxiolytic effects of LSD in healthy volunteers and patients with ADs. Preclinical and clinical findings show that even if LSD may exacerbate anxiety acutely (both in "microdoses" and "full doses"), it induces long-lasting anxiolytic effects. Only two randomized controlled trials combining LSD and psychotherapy have been performed in patients with ADs with and without life-threatening conditions, showing a good safety profile and persisting decreases in anxiety outcomes. The effect of LSD on anxiety may be mediated by serotonin receptors (5-HT1A/1B, 5-HT2A/2C, and 5-HT7) and/or transporter in brain networks and circuits (default mode network, cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit, and prefrontal cortex-amygdala circuit), involved in the modulation of anxiety. It remains unclear whether LSD can be an efficacious treatment alone or only when combined with psychotherapy, and if "microdosing" may elicit the same sustained anxiolytic effects as the "full doses". Further randomized controlled trials with larger sample size cohorts of patients with ADs are required to clearly define the effective regimens, safety profile, efficacy, and feasibility of LSD for the treatment of ADs.

Imaging the cerebellum in post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorders: a mini-review

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric conditions worldwide sharing many clinical manifestations and, most likely, neural mechanisms as suggested by neuroimaging research. While the so-called fear circuitry and traditional limbic structures of the brain, particularly the amygdala, have been extensively studied in sufferers of these disorders, the cerebellum has been relatively underexplored. The aim of this paper was to present a mini-review of functional (task-activity or resting-state connectivity) and structural (gray matter volume) results on the cerebellum as reported in magnetic resonance imaging studies of patients with PTSD or anxiety disorders (49 selected studies in 1,494 patients). While mixed results were noted overall, e.g., regarding the direction of effects and anatomical localization, cerebellar structures like the vermis seem to be highly involved. Still, the neurofunctional and structural alterations reported for the cerebellum in excessive anxiety and trauma are complex, and in need of further evaluation.

Disrupted brain gray matter connectome in social anxiety disorder: a novel individualized structural covariance network analysis

Phenotyping approaches grounded in structural network science can offer insights into the neurobiological substrates of psychiatric diseases, but this remains to be clarified at the individual level in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Using a recently developed approach combining probability density estimation and Kullback-Leibler divergence, we constructed single-subject structural covariance networks (SCNs) based on multivariate morphometry (cortical thickness, surface area, curvature, and volume) and quantified their global/nodal network properties using graph-theoretical analysis. We compared network metrics between SAD patients and healthy controls (HC) and analyzed the relationship to clinical characteristics. We also used support vector machine analysis to explore the ability of graph-theoretical metrics to discriminate SAD patients from HC. Globally, SAD patients showed higher global efficiency, shorter characteristic path length, and stronger small-worldness. Locally, SAD patients showed abnormal nodal centrality mainly involving left superior frontal gyrus, right superior parietal lobe, left amygdala, right paracentral gyrus, right lingual, and right pericalcarine cortex. Altered topological metrics were associated with the symptom severity and duration. Graph-based metrics allowed single-subject classification of SAD versus HC with total accuracy of 78.7%. This finding, that the topological organization of SCNs in SAD patients is altered toward more randomized configurations, adds to our understanding of network-level neuropathology in SAD.

Anxiety adds the risk of cognitive progression and is associated with axon/synapse degeneration among cognitively unimpaired older adults

BACKGROUND

Mental symptoms have been shown to be associated with dementia. As the most common neuropsychiatric disorder, it is unclear whether and why anxiety increases the risk of cognitive progression in elderly.

METHODS

The aim of this study was to investigate the longitudinal effects of anxiety on cognitive impairment in non-dementia elderly and to explore the underlying biological processes using multi-omics including microarray-based transcriptomics, mass spectrometry-based proteomics and metabolomics, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biochemical markers, and brain diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) and Shanghai Mental Health Centre (SMHC) cohorts were included.

FINDINGS

Anxiety was found to increase the risk of subsequent cognitive progression in the ADNI, and a similar result was observed in the CLHLS cohort. Enrichment analysis indicated activated axon/synapse pathways and suppressed mitochondrial pathways in anxiety, the former confirmed by deviations in frontolimbic tract morphology and altered levels of axon/synapse markers, and the latter supported by decreased levels of carnitine metabolites. Mediation analysis revealed that anxiety's effect on the longitudinal cognition was mediated by brain tau burden. Correlations of mitochondria-related expressed genes with axon/synapse proteins, carnitine metabolites, and cognitive changes were found.

INTERPRETATION

This study provides cross-validated epidemiological and biological evidence that anxiety is a risk factor for cognitive progression in non-dementia elderly, and that axon/synapse damage in the context of energy metabolism imbalance may contribute to this phenomenon.

FUNDING

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (82271607, 81971682, and 81830059) for data analysis and data collection.

Pre-COVID brain functional connectome features prospectively predict emergence of distress symptoms after onset of the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

Persistent psychological distress associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been well documented. This study aimed to identify pre-COVID brain functional connectome that predicts pandemic-related distress symptoms among young adults.

METHODS

Baseline neuroimaging studies and assessment of general distress using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale were performed with 100 healthy individuals prior to wide recognition of the health risks associated with the emergence of COVID-19. They were recontacted for the Impact of Event Scale-Revised and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist in the period of community-level outbreaks, and for follow-up distress evaluation again 1 year later. We employed the network-based statistic approach to identify connectome that predicted the increase of distress based on 136-region-parcellation with assigned network membership. Predictive performance of connectome features and causal relations were examined by cross-validation and mediation analyses.

RESULTS

The connectome features that predicted emergence of distress after COVID contained 70 neural connections. Most within-network connections were located in the default mode network (DMN), and affective network-DMN and dorsal attention network-DMN links largely constituted between-network pairs. The hippocampus emerged as the most critical hub region. Predictive models of the connectome remained robust in cross-validation. Mediation analyses demonstrated that COVID-related posttraumatic stress partially explained the correlation of connectome to the development of general distress.

CONCLUSIONS

Brain functional connectome may fingerprint individuals with vulnerability to psychological distress associated with the COVID pandemic. Individuals with brain neuromarkers may benefit from the corresponding interventions to reduce the risk or severity of distress related to fear of COVID-related challenges.

Abnormal whole-brain voxelwise structure-function coupling and its association with cognitive dysfunction in patients with different cerebral small vessel disease burdens

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a universal neurological disorder in older adults that occurs in connection with cognitive dysfunction and is a chief risk factor for dementia and stroke. While whole-brain voxelwise structural and functional abnormalities in CSVD have been heavily explored, the degree of structure-function coupling abnormality possible in patients with different CSVD burdens remains largely unknown. This study included 53 patients with severe CSVD burden (CSVD-s), 108 patients with mild CSVD burden (CSVD-m) and 76 healthy controls. A voxelwise coupling metric of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to research the important differences in whole-brain structure-function coupling among groups. The correlations between ALFF/VBM decoupling and cognitive parameters in CSVD patients were then investigated. We found that compared with healthy controls, CSVD-s patients presented notably decreased ALFF/VBM coupling in the bilateral caudate nuclei and increased coupling in the right inferior temporal gyrus (ITG). In addition, compared with the CSVD-m group, the CSVD-s group demonstrated significantly decreased coupling in the bilateral caudate nuclei, right putamen and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and increased coupling in the left middle frontal gyrus and medial superior frontal gyrus. Notably, the ALFF/VBM decoupling values in the caudate, IFG and ITG not only showed significant correlations with attention and executive functions in CSVD patients but also prominently distinguished CSVD-s patients from CSVD-m patients and healthy controls in receiver operating characteristic curve research. Our discoveries demonstrated that decreased ALFF/VBM coupling in the basal ganglia and increased coupling in the frontotemporal lobes were connected with more severe burden and worse cognitive decline in CSVD patients. ALFF/VBM coupling might serve as a novel effective neuroimaging biomarker of CSVD burden and provide new insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of the clinical development of CSVD.

Brain structure-function coupling associated with cognitive impairment in cerebral small vessel disease

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is a common chronic and progressive disease that can lead to mental and cognitive impairment. Damage to brain structure and function may play an important role in the neuropsychiatric disorders of patients with CSVD. Increasing evidence suggests that functional changes are accompanied by structural changes in corresponding brain regions. Thus, normal structure-function coupling is essential for optimal brain performance, and disrupted structure-function coupling can be found in many neurological and psychiatric disorders. To date, most studies on patients with CSVD have focused on separate structures or functions, including reductions in white matter volume and blood flow, which lead to cognitive dysfunction. However, there are few studies on brain structure-function coupling in patients with CSVD. In recent years, with the rapid development of multilevel (voxel-wise, neurovascular, regional level, and network level) brain structure-functional coupling analysis methods based on multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), new evidence has been provided to reveal the correlation between brain function and structural abnormalities and cognitive impairment. Therefore, studying brain structure-function coupling has a potential significance in the exploration and elucidation of the neurobiological mechanism of cognitive impairment in patients with CSVD. This article mainly describes the currently popular brain structure-function coupling analysis technology based on multimodal MRI and the important research progress of these coupling technologies on CSVD and cognitive impairment to provide a perspective for the study of the pathogenesis and early diagnosis of CSVD.

Effect of intermittent theta burst stimulation on suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms in adolescent depression with suicide attempt: A randomized sham-controlled study

BACKGROUND

Suicidal ideation is a serious symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD). Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is a safe, effective brain stimulation treatment for alleviating suicidal ideation in adults with MDD. This study aimed to examine the clinical efficacy of iTBS on reducing suicidal ideation in adolescent MDD with suicide attempt.

METHODS

In a randomized, sham-controlled protocol, a total of 10 sessions of iTBS was administrated to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in patients once a day for two weeks. The suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms were assessed using Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation-Chinese Version (BSI-CV), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-24), and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) at baseline and after 10 treatment sessions.

RESULTS

Forty-five patients were randomized assigned to either active iTBS (n = 23) or sham group (n = 22). The suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms of the active iTBS group were significantly ameliorated over 2 weeks of treatment. Further, higher baseline SDS, HAMD-24 and BSI-CV scores in the active iTBS group were associated with greater reductions.

LIMITATIONS

A larger sample size and double-blinded clinical trial should be conducted to verify the reliability and reproducibility.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study suggested that daily iTBS of the left DLPFC for 2 weeks could effectively and safely alleviate suicidal ideation and mitigate depression in adolescent MDD, especially for individuals with relatively more severe symptoms. Although caution is warranted, the findings could provide further evidence for the effectiveness and safety of iTBS in clinical practice.

Altered single-subject gray matter structural networks in social anxiety disorder

Previous fMRI studies have reported more random brain functional graph configurations in social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, it is still unclear whether the same configurations would occur in gray matter (GM) graphs. Structural MRI was performed on 49 patients with SAD and on 51 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HC). Single-subject GM networks were obtained based on the areal similarities of GM, and network topological properties were analyzed using graph theory. Group differences in each topological metric were compared, and the structure-function coupling was examined. These network measures were further correlated with the clinical characteristics in the SAD group. Compared with controls, the SAD patients demonstrated globally decreased clustering coefficient and characteristic path length. Altered topological properties were found in the fronto-limbic and sensory processing systems. Altered metrics were associated with the illness duration of SAD. Compared with the HC group, the SAD group exhibited significantly decreased structural-functional decoupling. Furthermore, structural-functional decoupling was negatively correlated with the symptom severity in SAD. These findings highlight less-optimized topological configuration of the brain structural networks in SAD, which may provide insights into the neural mechanisms underlying the excessive fear and avoidance of social interactions in SAD.

Morphological and Structural Network Analysis of Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease Brains Based on the APOE4 Gene

BACKGROUND

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an increasingly common type of dementia. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is a strong risk factor for AD.

OBJECTIVE

Here, we explored alterations in grey matter structure (GMV) and networks in AD, as well as the effects of the APOEɛ4 allele on neuroimaging regions based on structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI).

METHODS

All subjects underwent an sMRI scan. GMV and cortical thickness were calculated using voxel-based morphological analysis, and structural networks were constructed based on graph theory analysis to compare differences between AD and normal controls.

RESULTS

The volumes of grey matter in the bilateral inferior temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus, right inferior parietal lobule, right limbic lobe, right frontal lobe, left anterior cingulate gyrus, and bilateral olfactory cortex of patients with AD were significantly decreased. The cortical thickness in patients with AD was significantly reduced in the left lateral occipital lobe, inferior parietal lobe, orbitofrontal region, precuneus, superior parietal gyrus, right precentral gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, pars opercularis gyrus, insular gyrus, superior marginal gyrus, bilateral fusiform gyrus, and superior frontal gyrus. In terms of local properties, there were significant differences between the AD and control groups in these areas, including the right bank, right temporalis pole, bilateral middle temporal gyrus, right transverse temporal gyrus, left postcentral gyrus, and left parahippocampal gyrus.

CONCLUSION

There were significant differences in the morphological and structural covariate networks between AD patients and healthy controls under APOEɛ4 allele effects.

Reduced left dorsolateral prefrontal activation in problematic smartphone users during the Stroop task: An fNIRS study

Introduction

The widespread use of smartphones has triggered concern over problematic smartphone use (PSPU), as well as the need to elucidate its underlying mechanisms. However, the correlation between cortical activation and deficient inhibitory control in PSPU remains unclear.

Methods

This study examined inhibitory control using the color-word matching Stroop task and its cortical-activation responses using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in college students with PSPU (n = 56) compared with a control group (n = 54).

Results

At the behavioral level, Stroop interference, coupled with reaction time, was significantly greater in the PSPU group than in the control group. Changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) signals associated with Stroop interference were significantly increased in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, left frontopolar area, and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Moreover, the PSPU group had lower Oxy-Hb signal changes associated with Stroop interference in the left-DLPFC, relative to controls.

Discussion

These results provide first behavioral and neuroscientific evidence using event-related fNIRS method, to our knowledge, that college students with PSPU may have a deficit in inhibitory control associated with lower cortical activation in the left-DLPFC.

Functional connectivity strength and topology differences in social phobia adolescents with and without ADHD comorbidity

Social phobia (SP) is associated with changes in functional connectivity strength and topology. However, reported changes have been heterogeneous due to small sample sizes, inconsistent methodologies, and comorbidities, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which has a high comorbidity rate with SP. Furthermore, there are few studies looking at SP in an adolescent population, a critical period for the development of the social brain. This project focuses on functional connectivity strength and topological differences in social phobia patients with and without ADHD comorbidity. We examined resting-state functional MRI images from 158 subjects, including 36 SP participants without ADHD comorbidity, 60 SP participants with ADHD comorbidity, and 62 healthy controls, with an overall average age of 14.16. We used a data-driven approach to examine impaired functional connectivity in a whole-brain analysis and higher-order topological differences in functional brain networks. We identified changes in the cerebellum and default mode network in social phobia patients as a whole, with the presence of ADHD comorbidity affecting various subsystems of the default mode network. Social phobia functional connectivity networks resembled random graphs, and local connectivity patterns in the superior occipital gyrus were different due to ADHD comorbidity. These alterations may indicate impairments in self-related processing, imagery, mentalizing, and predictive processes. We then used these changes in a linear support vector machine to distinguish between each pair of groups and achieved prediction accuracy significantly above chance rates. Our study extends prior research by showing that functional connectivity changes exist at adolescence, which are affected by ADHD comorbidity. As such, these results offer a new perspective in examining neurobiological changes in SP patients.

A Voxel-Based Morphometric Study of Gray Matter in Specific Phobia

The objective of this study was to analyze the neurostructural abnormalities of brain areas responsible for the acquisition and maintenance of fear in small animal phobia by comparing gray matter volume (GMV) in individuals with phobia and non-fearful controls. Structural magnetic resonance imaging was obtained from 62 adults (79% female) assigned to one of two groups: 31 were diagnosed with small animal phobia and 31 were non-fearful controls. To investigate structural alterations, a whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analysis was conducted to compare the GMV of the brain areas involved in fear between both groups. The results indicated that individuals with a small animal specific phobia showed smaller GMV in cortical regions, such as the orbitofrontal (OFC) and medial frontal cortex, and greater GMV in the putamen than non-fearful controls. These brain areas are responsible for avoidant behavior (putamen) and emotional regulation processes or inhibitory control (prefrontal cortex (PFC)), which might suggest a greater vulnerability of phobic individuals to acquiring non-adaptive conditioned responses and emotional dysregulation. The findings provide preliminary support for the involvement of structural deficits in OFC and medial frontal cortex in phobia, contributing to clarify the neurobiological substrates for phobias.

Large-scale dysfunctional white matter and grey matter networks in patients with social anxiety disorder

Dysfunction of large-scale brain networks has been implicated in social anxiety disorder (SAD); most work has focused on grey matter (GM) functional connectivity (FC) abnormalities, whereas white matter (WM) FC alterations remain unclear. Here, using a K-means clustering algorithm, we obtained 8 GM and 10 WM functional networks from a cohort dataset (48 SAD patients and 48 healthy controls). By calculating and comparing FC matrices between SAD group and healthy controls, we demonstrated disrupted connections between the limbic and dorsal prefrontal, lateral temporal, and sensorimotor networks, and between the visual and sensorimotor networks. Furthermore, there were negative correlations between HAMD scores and limbic-dorsal prefrontal and limbic-sensorimotor networks, and between illness duration and sensorimotor-visual networks. These findings reflect the critical role of limbic network, with its extensive connections to other networks, and the neurobiology of disordered cognition processing and emotional regulation in SAD.

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Anomalous interactions between large-scale functional networks were identified in SAD

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The limbic, prefrontal, and perceptual networks underlie the neurobiology of SAD

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The white matter functional network is physiologically important

The protective effect of grit on clinical nurses’ occupational psychological distress: Mediating and suppressing effects of Hope

As at a high-risk group of psychological distress, nurses generally experience varying degrees of stress, anxiety, and depression. This paper identifies the positive factors that may negatively regulate the psychological pain of clinical nurses and their mechanisms of action, providing reliable references for clinical nurse support management. The effects and mechanisms of hope and the two components of grit consistency of interest and perseverance of effort) on clinical nurses’ psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress) were observed in this study. A total of 635 Chinese clinical nurses (90.4% female) completed an anonymous questionnaire for the survey. As expected, hope, consistency of interest, and perseverance of effort were negatively correlated with the three indicators of psychological distress (r = −0.21 ~ −0.38, p < 0.01). Path analysis results showed that hope significantly mediated the negative effect of consistency of interest on psychological distress, with an effect of 12.96%. Hope also covered up the perseverance of effort on psychological distress, the effect of 110.63%. In the influence of consistency of interest and perseverance of effort on psychological distress, hope contributed a vital mediating. Based on these results, it can be concluded that grit and hope have protective effects on psychological distress in clinical nurses. Significantly increasing the level of hope or grit may effectively prevent and reduce psychological distress in clinical nurses.

Distinct brain structural abnormalities in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and substance use disorders: A comparative meta-analysis

As two common mental disorders during the period of adolescence that extend to early adulthood, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substance use disorders (SUDs) have considerable diagnostic co-occurrence and shared neuropsychological impairments. Our study aimed to identify overlapping and distinct brain structural abnormalities associated with ADHD and SUDs among adolescents and young adults. A systematic literature search on voxel-based morphometry (VBM) studies of ADHD and SUDs was conducted in PubMed and Web of Science. Data were extracted and analyzed to identify brain abnormalities using Seed-based d-Mapping software. Data-driven functional decoding was conducted to identify the psychophysiological functioning associated with brain alterations. 13 and 14 VBM studies for ADHD (619 patients and 483 controls) and SUDs (516 patients and 413 controls), respectively, were included. Patterns of decreased gray matter volume (GMV) were found in the left precentral gyrus, bilateral superior frontal gyri, and left inferior frontal gyrus in the ADHD group compared to the control group. In contrast, individuals with SUDs, relative to controls, were characterized by increased GMV in the left putamen and insula. Comparative analysis indicated larger regional GMV in the right inferior parietal lobule and smaller volumes in the left putamen and left precentral gyrus in the ADHD group than in the SUDs group. Dissociable brain structural abnormalities in adolescents and young adults with ADHD and SUDs potentially implicate different pathogeneses and provide a reference for differential diagnosis and early detection for shared symptomology and comorbidity.

COVID-19 vicarious traumatization links functional connectome to general distress

As characterized by repeated exposure of others' trauma, vicarious traumatization is a common negative psychological reaction during the COVID-19 pandemic and plays a crucial role in the development of general mental distress. This study aims to identify functional connectome that encodes individual variations of pandemic-related vicarious traumatization and reveal the underlying brain-vicarious traumatization mechanism in predicting general distress. The eligible subjects were 105 general university students (60 females, aged from 19 to 27 years) undergoing brain MRI scanning and baseline behavioral tests (October 2019 to January 2020), whom were re-contacted for COVID-related vicarious traumatization measurement (February to April 2020) and follow-up general distress evaluation (March to April 2021). We applied a connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) approach to identify the functional connectome supporting vicarious traumatization based on a 268-region-parcellation assigned to network memberships. The CPM analyses showed that only the negative network model stably predicted individuals' vicarious traumatization scores (q² = -0.18, MSE = 617, r _{[predicted, actual]} = 0.18, p = 0.024), with the contributing functional connectivity primarily distributed in the fronto-parietal, default mode, medial frontal, salience, and motor network. Furthermore, mediation analysis revealed that vicarious traumatization mediated the influence of brain functional connectome on general distress. Importantly, our results were independent of baseline family socioeconomic status, other stressful life events and general mental health as well as age, sex and head motion. Our study is the first to provide evidence for the functional neural markers of vicarious traumatization and reveal an underlying neuropsychological pathway to predict distress symptoms in which brain functional connectome affects general distress via vicarious traumatization.

Common and Distinct Neural Patterns of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder: A Multimodal Functional and Structural Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) have partially overlapping symptom profiles and are highly comorbid in adults. However, whether the behavioral similarities correspond to shared neurobiological substrates is not known.

METHODS

An overlapping meta-analysis of 58 ADHD and 66 BPD whole-brain articles incorporating observations from 3401 adult patients and 3238 healthy participants was performed by seed-based d mapping. Brain maps were subjected to meta-analytic connectivity modeling and data-driven functional decoding analyses to identify associated neural circuit alterations and relations to behavioral dimensions.

RESULTS

Both groups exhibited hypoactivated abnormalities in the left inferior parietal lobule, and altered clusters of the bilateral superior temporal gyrus were disjunctive in ADHD and BPD. No overlapping structural abnormalities were found. Multimodal alterations of ADHD were located in the right putamen and of BPD in the left orbitofrontal cortex.

CONCLUSIONS

The transdiagnostic neural bases of ADHD and BPD in temporoparietal circuitry may underlie overlapping problems of behavioral control, while disorder-specific substrates in frontostriatal circuitry may account for their distinguishing features in motor and emotion domains, respectively.

Magnetization transfer imaging alterations and its diagnostic value in antipsychotic-naïve first-episode schizophrenia

Magnetization transfer imaging (MTI) may provide more sensitivity and mechanistic understanding of neuropathological changes associated with schizophrenia than volumetric MRI. This study aims to identify brain magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) changes in antipsychotic-naïve first-episode schizophrenia (FES), and to correlate MTR findings with clinical symptom severity. A total of 143 individuals with antipsychotic-naïve FES and 147 healthy controls (HCs) were included and underwent 3.0 T brain MTI between August 2005 and July 2014. Voxelwise analysis was performed to test for MTR differences with family-wise error corrections. Relationships of these differences to symptom severity were assessed using partial correlations. Exploratory analyses using a support vector machine (SVM) classifier were conducted to discriminate FES from HCs using MTR maps. Model performance was examined using a 10-fold stratified cross-validation. Compared with HCs, individuals with FES exhibited higher MTR values in left thalamus, precuneus, cuneus, and paracentral lobule, that were positively correlated with schizophrenia symptom severity [precuneus (r = 0.34, P = 0.0004), cuneus (r = 0.33, P = 0.0006) and paracentral lobule (r = 0.37, P = 0.001)]. Whole-brain MTR maps identified individuals with FES with overall accuracy 75.5% (219 of 290 individuals) based on SVM approach. In antipsychotic-naïve FES, clinically relevant biophysical abnormalities detected by MTI mainly in the left parieto-occipital regions are informative about local brain pathology, and have potential as diagnostic markers.

Patterns of a structural covariance network associated with dispositional optimism during late adolescence

Dispositional optimism (hereinafter, optimism), as a vital character strength, reflects the tendency to hold generalized positive expectancies for future outcomes. A great number of studies have consistently shown the importance of optimism to a spectrum of physical and mental health outcomes. However, less attention has been given to the intrinsic neurodevelopmental patterns associated with interindividual differences in optimism. Here, we investigated this important question in a large sample comprising 231 healthy adolescents (16-20 years old) via structural magnetic resonance imaging and behavioral tests. We constructed individual structural covariance networks based on cortical gyrification using a recent novel approach combining probability density estimation and Kullback-Leibler divergence and estimated global (global efficiency, local efficiency and small-worldness) and regional (betweenness centrality) properties of these constructed networks using graph theoretical analysis. Partial correlations adjusted for age, sex and estimated total intracranial volume showed that optimism was positively related to global and local efficiency but not small-worldness. Partial least squares correlations indicated that optimism was positively linked to a pronounced betweenness centrality pattern, in which twelve cognition-, emotion-, and motivation-related regions made robust and reliable contributions. These findings remained basically consistent after additionally controlling for family socioeconomic status and showed significant correlations with optimism scores from 2.5 years before, which replicated the main findings. The current work, for the first time, delineated characteristics of the cortical gyrification covariance network associated with optimism, extending previous neurobiological understandings of optimism, which may navigate the development of interventions on a neural network level aimed at raising optimism.