1
|
Lim L, Talozzi L, Howells H. Atypical brain structural connectivity and social cognition in childhood maltreatment and peer victimisation. BMC Psychiatry 2024; 24:287. [PMID: 38627646 PMCID: PMC11022413 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-05759-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with neurobiological aberrations and atypical social cognition. Few studies have examined the neural effects of another common early-life interpersonal stressor, namely peer victimisation (PV). This study examines the associations between tract aberrations and childhood interpersonal stress from caregivers (CM) and peers (PV), and explores how the observed tract alterations are in turn related to affective theory of mind (ToM). METHODS Data from 107 age-and gender-matched youths (34 CM [age = 19.9 ± 1.68; 36%male], 35 PV [age = 19.9 ± 1.65; 43%male], 38 comparison subjects [age = 20.0 ± 1.66; 42%male] were analysed using tractography and whole-brain tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). RESULTS At the whole-brain level using TBSS, the CM group had higher fractional anisotropy (FA) than the PV and comparison groups in a cluster of predominantly limbic and corpus callosal pathways. Segmented tractography indicated the CM group had higher FA in right uncinate fasciculus compared to both groups. They also had smaller right anterior thalamic radiation (ATR) tract volume than the comparison group and higher left ATR FA than the PV group, with these metrics associated with higher emotional abuse and enhanced affective ToM within the CM group, respectively. The PV group had lower inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus FA than the other two groups, which was related to lower affective ToM within the PV group. CONCLUSION Findings suggest that exposure to early-life stress from caregivers and peers are differentially associated with alterations of neural pathways connecting the frontal, temporal and occipital cortices involved in cognitive and affective control, with possible links to their atypical social cognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lena Lim
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, Singapore.
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Lia Talozzi
- Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, California, USA
| | - Henrietta Howells
- Laboratory of Motor Control, Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan and Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Mitolo M, Zoli M, Testa C, Morandi L, Rochat MJ, Zaccagna F, Martinoni M, Santoro F, Asioli S, Badaloni F, Conti A, Sturiale C, Lodi R, Mazzatenta D, Tonon C. Neuroplasticity Mechanisms in Frontal Brain Gliomas: A Preliminary Study. Front Neurol 2022; 13:867048. [PMID: 35720068 PMCID: PMC9204970 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.867048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Pathological brain processes may induce adaptive cortical reorganization, however, the mechanisms underlying neuroplasticity that occurs in the presence of lesions in eloquent areas are not fully explained. The aim of this study was to evaluate functional compensatory cortical activations in patients with frontal brain gliomas during a phonemic fluency task and to explore correlations with cognitive performance, white matter tracts microstructural alterations, and tumor histopathological and molecular characterization. Methods Fifteen patients with frontal glioma were preoperatively investigated with an MRI study on a 3T scanner and a subgroup underwent an extensive neuropsychological assessment. The hemispheric laterality index (LI) was calculated through phonemic fluency task functional MRI (fMRI) activations in the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobe parcellations. Diffusion-weighted images were acquired for all patients and for a group of 24 matched healthy volunteers. Arcuate Fasciculus (AF) and Frontal Aslant Tract (FAT) tractography was performed using constrained spherical deconvolution diffusivity modeling and probabilistic fiber tracking. All patients were operated on with a resective aim and underwent adjuvant therapies, depending on the final diagnosis. Results All patients during the phonemic fluency task fMRI showed left hemispheric dominance in temporal and parietal regions. Regarding frontal regions (i.e., frontal operculum) we found right hemispheric dominance that increases when considering only those patients with tumors located on the left side. These latter activations positively correlate with verbal and visuo-spatial short-term memory, and executive functions. No correlations were found between the left frontal operculum and cognitive performance. Furthermore, patients with IDH-1 mutation and without TERT mutation, showed higher rightward frontal operculum fMRI activations and better cognitive performance in tests measuring general cognitive abilities, semantic fluency, verbal short-term memory, and executive functions. As for white matter tracts, we found left and right AF and FAT microstructural alterations in patients with, respectively, left-sided and right-side glioma compared to controls. Conclusions Compensatory cortical activation of the corresponding region in the non-dominant hemisphere and its association with better cognitive performance and more favorable histopathological and molecular tumor characteristics shed light on the neuroplasticity mechanisms that occur in the presence of a tumor, helping to predict the rate of post-operative deficit, with the final goal of improving patients'quality of life.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Micaela Mitolo
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Matteo Zoli
- Pituitary Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudia Testa
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Luca Morandi
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Magali Jane Rochat
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Fulvio Zaccagna
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Matteo Martinoni
- Neurosurgery Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Francesca Santoro
- Neurology Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sofia Asioli
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Anatomic Pathology Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Filippo Badaloni
- Neurosurgery Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alfredo Conti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Neurosurgery Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Carmelo Sturiale
- Neurosurgery Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Raffaele Lodi
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Diego Mazzatenta
- Pituitary Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Caterina Tonon
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Wende T, Kasper J, Wilhelmy F, Dietel E, Hamerla G, Scherlach C, Meixensberger J, Fehrenbach MK. Assessment of a Reliable Fractional Anisotropy Cutoff in Tractography of the Corticospinal Tract for Neurosurgical Patients. Brain Sci 2021; 11:650. [PMID: 34065682 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11050650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Tractography has become a standard technique for planning neurosurgical operations in the past decades. This technique relies on diffusion magnetic resonance imaging. The cutoff value for the fractional anisotropy (FA) has an important role in avoiding false-positive and false-negative results. However, there is a wide variation in FA cutoff values. Methods: We analyzed a prospective cohort of 14 patients (six males and eight females, 50.1 ± 4.0 years old) with intracerebral tumors that were mostly gliomas. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was obtained within 7 days before and within 7 days after surgery with T1 and diffusion tensor image (DTI) sequences. We, then, reconstructed the corticospinal tract (CST) in all patients and extracted the FA values within the resulting volume. Results: The mean FA in all CSTs was 0.4406 ± 0.0003 with the fifth percentile at 0.1454. FA values in right-hemispheric CSTs were lower (p < 0.0001). Postoperatively, the FA values were more condensed around their mean (p < 0.0001). The analysis of infiltrated or compressed CSTs revealed a lower fifth percentile (0.1407 ± 0.0109 versus 0.1763 ± 0.0040, p = 0.0036). Conclusion: An FA cutoff value of 0.15 appears to be reasonable for neurosurgical patients and may shorten the tractography workflow. However, infiltrated fiber bundles must trigger vigilance and may require lower cutoffs.
Collapse
|
4
|
Zoli M, Talozzi L, Martinoni M, Manners DN, Badaloni F, Testa C, Asioli S, Mitolo M, Bartiromo F, Rochat MJ, Fabbri VP, Sturiale C, Conti A, Lodi R, Mazzatenta D, Tonon C. From Neurosurgical Planning to Histopathological Brain Tumor Characterization: Potentialities of Arcuate Fasciculus Along-Tract Diffusion Tensor Imaging Tractography Measures. Front Neurol 2021; 12:633209. [PMID: 33716935 PMCID: PMC7952864 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2021.633209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Tractography has been widely adopted to improve brain gliomas' surgical planning and guide their resection. This study aimed to evaluate state-of-the-art of arcuate fasciculus (AF) tractography for surgical planning and explore the role of along-tract analyses in vivo for characterizing tumor histopathology. Methods: High angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI) images were acquired for nine patients with tumors located in or near language areas (age: 41 ± 14 years, mean ± standard deviation; five males) and 32 healthy volunteers (age: 39 ± 16 years; 16 males). Phonemic fluency task fMRI was acquired preoperatively for patients. AF tractography was performed using constrained spherical deconvolution diffusivity modeling and probabilistic fiber tracking. Along-tract analyses were performed, dividing the AF into 15 segments along the length of the tract defined using the Laplacian operator. For each AF segment, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures were compared with those obtained in healthy controls (HCs). The hemispheric laterality index (LI) was calculated from language task fMRI activations in the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobe parcellations. Tumors were grouped into low/high grade (LG/HG). Results: Four tumors were LG gliomas (one dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor and three glioma grade II) and five HG gliomas (two grade III and three grade IV). For LG tumors, gross total removal was achieved in all but one case, for HG in two patients. Tractography identified the AF trajectory in all cases. Four along-tract DTI measures potentially discriminated LG and HG tumor patients (false discovery rate < 0.1): the number of abnormal MD and RD segments, median AD, and MD measures. Both a higher number of abnormal AF segments and a higher AD and MD measures were associated with HG tumor patients. Moreover, correlations (unadjusted p < 0.05) were found between the parietal lobe LI and the DTI measures, which discriminated between LG and HG tumor patients. In particular, a more rightward parietal lobe activation (LI < 0) correlated with a higher number of abnormal MD segments (R = −0.732) and RD segments (R = −0.724). Conclusions: AF tractography allows to detect the course of the tract, favoring the safer-as-possible tumor resection. Our preliminary study shows that along-tract DTI metrics can provide useful information for differentiating LG and HG tumors during pre-surgical tumor characterization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Zoli
- Pituitary Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Lia Talozzi
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Matteo Martinoni
- Neurosurgery Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - David N Manners
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Filippo Badaloni
- Neurosurgery Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudia Testa
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sofia Asioli
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Anatomic Pathology Unit, Azienda USL di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Micaela Mitolo
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Fiorina Bartiromo
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Magali Jane Rochat
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Viscardo Paolo Fabbri
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Carmelo Sturiale
- Neurosurgery Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alfredo Conti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Neurosurgery Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Raffaele Lodi
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Diego Mazzatenta
- Pituitary Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Caterina Tonon
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Pieri V, Sanvito F, Riva M, Petrini A, Rancoita PMV, Cirillo S, Iadanza A, Bello L, Castellano A, Falini A. Along-tract statistics of neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging diffusion metrics to enhance MR tractography quantitative analysis in healthy controls and in patients with brain tumors. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 42:1268-1286. [PMID: 33274823 PMCID: PMC7927309 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Along‐tract statistics analysis enables the extraction of quantitative diffusion metrics along specific white matter fiber tracts. Besides quantitative metrics derived from classical diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), such as fractional anisotropy and diffusivities, new parameters reflecting the relative contribution of different diffusion compartments in the tissue can be estimated through advanced diffusion MRI methods as neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), leading to a more specific microstructural characterization. In this study, we extracted both DTI‐ and NODDI‐derived quantitative microstructural diffusion metrics along the most eloquent fiber tracts in 15 healthy subjects and in 22 patients with brain tumors. We obtained a robust intraprotocol reference database of normative along‐tract microstructural metrics, and their corresponding plots, from healthy fiber tracts. Each diffusion metric of individual patient's fiber tract was then plotted and statistically compared to the normative profile of the corresponding metric from the healthy fiber tracts. NODDI‐derived metrics appeared to account for the pathological microstructural changes of the peritumoral tissue more accurately than DTI‐derived ones. This approach may be useful for future studies that may compare healthy subjects to patients diagnosed with other pathological conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Pieri
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Neuroradiology Unit and CERMAC, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesco Sanvito
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Neuroradiology Unit and CERMAC, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Riva
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.,Neurosurgical Oncology Unit, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Milan, Italy
| | - Alessandro Petrini
- Department of Computer Science, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Paola M V Rancoita
- University Centre for Statistics in the Biomedical Sciences, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Sara Cirillo
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Neuroradiology Unit and CERMAC, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Antonella Iadanza
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Neuroradiology Unit and CERMAC, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Bello
- Neurosurgical Oncology Unit, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center - IRCCS, Milan, Italy.,Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Antonella Castellano
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Neuroradiology Unit and CERMAC, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Falini
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Neuroradiology Unit and CERMAC, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Bain JS, Yeatman JD, Schurr R, Rokem A, Mezer AA. Evaluating arcuate fasciculus laterality measurements across dataset and tractography pipelines. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:3695-3711. [PMID: 31106944 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Revised: 04/18/2019] [Accepted: 05/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The arcuate fasciculi are white-matter pathways that connect frontal and temporal lobes in each hemisphere. The arcuate plays a key role in the language network and is believed to be left-lateralized, in line with left hemisphere dominance for language. Measuring the arcuate in vivo requires diffusion magnetic resonance imaging-based tractography, but asymmetry of the in vivo arcuate is not always reliably detected in previous studies. It is unknown how the choice of tractography algorithm, with each method's freedoms, constraints, and vulnerabilities to false-positive and -negative errors, impacts findings of arcuate asymmetry. Here, we identify the arcuate in two independent datasets using a number of tractography strategies and methodological constraints, and assess their impact on estimates of arcuate laterality. We test three tractography methods: a deterministic, a probabilistic, and a tractography-evaluation (LiFE) algorithm. We extract the arcuate from the whole-brain tractogram, and compare it to an arcuate bundle constrained even further by selecting only those streamlines that connect to anatomically relevant cortical regions. We test arcuate macrostructure laterality, and also evaluate microstructure profiles for properties such as fractional anisotropy and quantitative R1. We find that both tractography choice and implementing the cortical constraints substantially impact estimates of all indices of arcuate laterality. Together, these results emphasize the effect of the tractography pipeline on estimates of arcuate laterality in both macrostructure and microstructure.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan S Bain
- The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Jason D Yeatman
- Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences and Department of Speech and Hearing Science, The University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Roey Schurr
- The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ariel Rokem
- The University of Washington eScience Institute, The University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Aviv A Mezer
- The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| |
Collapse
|