RPS 1811 - Brain in function

Author Block: H. M. H. Sbaihat, A. K. Roenneke, D. Müller, T. Ladopoulos, R. Schneider, B. Krieger, B. Bellenberg, C. Lukas; Bochum/DE
Purpose: Quantitative MRI (qMRI) provides valuable insights into tissue-specific MR properties, extending the diagnostic capabilities of conventional MRI. We aimed to construct normative multimodal human brain atlases to serve as references for tissue alterations in neurological disorders.
Methods or Background: Fifty-eight healthy controls (HC) underwent qMRI of the brain at 1.5T using the QRAPMASTER sequence, resulting in parameter maps for Myelin Volume Fraction (MVF, %), Proton Density (PD, %), and Relaxation Rates R1 and R2 (s⁻¹). We constructed four high-resolution (1mm³) atlases in standard space after bias-field correction, interpolation, normalization, and smoothing. These atlases allow visual and quantitative comparisons with individual datasets and will be made available to the research community. Additionally, quantitative data were extracted from 26 white matter regions of interest (ROIs). The atlases and extracted data were validated using z-score maps of three healthy controls and three multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Group differences across the ROIs between the qMRI atlases and the testing subjects were assessed using t-tests.
Results or Findings: The resulting atlases demonstrated high anatomical accuracy, resolution, and comprehensive brain coverage. The ROI values for R1, R2, PD, and MVF were consistent with the published literature. The z-score maps, particularly for R1 and MVF, accurately reflected individual lesion patterns and diffuse tissue changes in each MS patient. T-test results for R1, R2, PD, and MVF confirmed the alignment between the HC atlases and the HC testing group, while significant differences were observed with the MS testing subjects at a p-value of 0.01.
Conclusion: We successfully generated high-resolution, multi-modal qMRI atlases of the human brain, providing normative baselines for R1, R2, PD, and MVF. The validation process underscores their potential for assessing microstructural brain alterations in individual patients with neurodegenerative diseases.
Limitations: Not applicable.
Funding for this study: No funding was provided for this study.
Has your study been approved by an ethics committee? Yes
Ethics committee - additional information: The ethics committee of the Medical Faculty of the Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany (Approval Np. 20-7054-BR).
Area of Interest: CNS, Neuroradiology brain.

Author Block: S. B. Rosa¹, B. Direito², F. Sales², D. J. Pereira²; ¹Lisbon/PT, ²Coimbra/PT
Purpose: Mesial Temporal Sclerosis (MTS) is the most frequent histopathological abnormality in drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy. Anterior temporal lobectomy is a possible treatment, but postoperative memory deficits may follow. MTS patients activate extra-temporal regions during memory-related tasks, possibly as part of compensatory networks. Further research is required to understand these networks and how they may impact surgical outcomes. We aimed to understand how hippocampal atrophy affects connectivity during a memory fMRI task in MTS patients.
Methods or Background: We retrospectively included drug-resistant MTS patients admitted to CLHU (2019-2023) for surgical evaluation. Patients underwent MRI, including 3D T1WI and event-related memory fMRI. Hippocampal volume ratio was automatically calculated using volBrain. CONN toolbox was used to assess the effect of hippocampal volume on seed-to-voxel functional connectivity of the right and left hippocampus in patients with right and left MTS, respectively, while performing a verbal memory task.
Results or Findings: Thirteen patients were included (eight with lMTS, five with rMTS). Hippocampal volume ratio was 0.1047±0.0406 for lMTS and 0.1144±0.0331 for rMTS patients (mean ± standard deviation). Seed-to-voxel analysis showed a positive association between hippocampal volume and connectivity with contralateral hippocampus and parahippocampal gyri in both groups. In lMTS, hippocampal volume was negatively associated with connectivity to right superior parietal lobule and supramarginal gyrus (p＜0.05 cluster-size p-FDR corrected). No significant negative associations were found in rMTS.
Conclusion: As expected, greater hippocampal atrophy corresponded to reduced connectivity with the parahippocampal gyri and contralateral mesial temporal regions. Surprisingly, lMTS patients with greater atrophy showed higher connectivity to right parietal areas, a compensatory network not previously described in this condition, to our knowledge.
Limitations: Small sample size, applying a resting-state fMRI analysis method to task-based fMRI, assessing right hippocampal connectivity with a left hippocampal task.
Funding for this study: No funding.
Has your study been approved by an ethics committee? Not applicable
Ethics committee - additional information: All patients signed written consent for data usage and all data was anonymized.

Author Block: F. Aldhafeeri; Hafar al-Batin/SA
Purpose: Complex neural pathways that integrate auditory processing with emotional evaluation play a crucial role in the perception of emotional sounds. This study aimed to identify the neural circuits that differentially encode positive and negative valence during the implicit processing of emotional stimuli.
Methods or Background: A block-design fMRI experiment was conducted with thirty healthy participants. The study measured blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal changes in response to pleasant and unpleasant sounds from the International Affective Digitized Sounds (IADS), with each condition compared against a neutral baseline
Results or Findings: Significant activation (pFDRcorrected <0.05) was found in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC), and temporal lobe when contrasting pleasant sounds with neutral conditions. In response to unpleasant sounds, significant activation (pFDRcorrected <0.05) was observed in the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, parahippocampal gyri, temporal lobe, visual cortex, PFC, insula, anterior cingulate gyrus, and cerebellum, compared to the neutral condition
Conclusion: The neural correlates of pleasant and unpleasant stimuli involve a complex interplay between brain regions that regulate emotional responses. The auditory cortex, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens are key components of this process, with distinct activation patterns depending on the emotional valence of the auditory stimuli. Understanding these neural mechanisms enhances our insight into how sound influences emotional experiences and may guide the development of therapeutic interventions for auditory-related emotional disorders
Limitations: The study was conducted with a relatively small sample size of thirty participants. While this is typical for many fMRI studies, the limited number of participants may affect the generalizability of the findings. A larger sample size could provide more robust and reliable results.
Funding for this study: None
Has your study been approved by an ethics committee? Yes
Ethics committee - additional information: Local Research Ethics Committee

Author Block: Q. Chen; Beijing/CN
Purpose: This study aimed to systematically investigate structural and functional alterations in amygdala subregions using multimodal MRI in patients with tinnitus with or without affective dysfunction.
Methods or Background: Sixty patients with persistent tinnitus and 40 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. Based on a questionnaire assessment, 26 and 34 patients were categorized into the tinnitus patients with affective dysfunction (TPAD) and tinnitus patients without affective dysfunction (TPWAD) groups, respectively. MRI-based measurements of gray matter volume, fractional anisotropy (FA), fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), degree centrality (DC), and functional connectivity (FC) were conducted within 14 amygdala subregions for intergroup comparisons. Associations between the MRI properties and clinical characteristics were estimated via partial correlation analyses.
Results or Findings: Compared with HCs, the patients exhibited significant structural and functional changes, with more pronounced WMI changes in the TPAD group, predominantly within the left auxiliary basal or basomedial nucleus (AB/BM), right central nucleus, right lateral nuclei (dorsal portion), and left lateral nuclei (ventral portion containing basolateral portions). Moreover, the TPAD group exhibited decreased FC between the left AB/BM and left middle occipital gyrus and right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), left basal nucleus and right SFG, and right lateral nuclei (intermediate portion) and right SFG. In combination, these amygdalar alterations exhibited a sensitivity of 65.4% and specificity of 96.9% in predicting affective dysfunction in patients with tinnitus.
Conclusion: Although similar structural and functional amygdala remodeling were observed in the TPAD and TPWAD groups, the changes were more pronounced in the TPAD group. These changes mainly involved alterations in functionality and white matter microstructure in various amygdala subregions; in combination, these changes could serve as an imaging-based predictor of emotional disorders in patients with tinnitus.
Limitations: This is a cross-section study
Funding for this study: None
Has your study been approved by an ethics committee? Yes
Ethics committee - additional information: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University (No. 2017-P2-134-01).

Author Block: R. Rajiah, Q. Aziz, P. Nachev, J. K. K. Ruffle; London/UK
Purpose: To delineate the association between diet, brain structure and function in patients undergoing multi-modal MRI.
Methods or Background: Extensive evidence from lab-based and clinical studies support diet as an essential regulator of brain function. However accompanying neuroimaging evidence is scarce and small in scale.

We studied 518 healthy participants from the Cambridge Centre for Aging and Neuroscience (CAM-Can) repository (261 male and 257 female, mean age 53 years). Participants were clustered via their self-reported dietary intakes using K-means clustering. From MRI, resting-state functional, white matter tractography, and grey matter volumetry networks conditional to dietary cluster were investigated using network-based statistics, with participant age and sex as nuisance covariates. Relevant clinical data comprising BMI and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS) were compared using Welch’s t-test.
Results or Findings: Four dietary intake patterns were identified: balanced, meat-predominant, vegetarian, and raw vegetable-predominant. Specific dietary types – balanced, meat-predominant and vegetarian – were associated with increased functional, grey matter or white matter connectivity between regions comprising the bilateral insula, frontomedial cortex (FMC) and bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (p=<0.04). A balanced diet was associated with significantly increased functional, structural, and white matter connectivity between brain regions, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), bilateral insula and FMC compared to all others (p=<0.04). A balanced diet was associated with a significantly reduced depression score (HADS-D), compared to a meat-predominant one (p=0.03). The meat-predominant diet cluster correlated with increased structural connectivity at the bilateral ACC and increased BMI (p=0.01), when compared to vegetarian diets (p=0.03).
Conclusion: In the largest study of its kind, we reveal the structural and functional brain associations of diet. Our findings imply physiological correlates for diet-induced brain changes for future research.
Limitations: We use self-reported dietary intake, limited by data availability.
Funding for this study: The Issac Shapiro grant supported RR. JKR was supported by the Medical Research Council (MR/X00046X/1).  PN is supported by the Wellcome Trust (213038/Z/18/Z) and the UCLH NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.
Has your study been approved by an ethics committee? Yes
Ethics committee - additional information: The Cam-CAN project was approved by Cambridgeshire Research Ethics Committee (reference: 10/H0308/50).

Author Block: H. Briody, I. Alam, R. Bruen, P. Mchugh, P. Rohan, S. Looby; Dublin/IE
Purpose: To establish the current trends in European literature on the use of computed tomography angiography (CTA) as an ancillary test in the determination of brain death and to clarify the technical parameters and interpretative criteria currently in use.
Methods or Background: Brain death is primarily a clinical diagnosis made by confirming the absence of brainstem reflexes and the presence of apnoea in the setting of irreversible coma where confounding factors have been excluded. However, in specific circumstances where it is not possible to perform the required tests to satisfy the clinical criteria, ancillary testing may be required to support the diagnosis. The radiological study endorsed by most national guidelines remains four-vessel digital subtraction angiography although there is a move towards the less invasive, more accessible CTA.
Results or Findings: CTA is currently endorsed as an ancillary test for the determination of brain death in multiple European countries including France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Poland and the United Kingdom. The Polish and UK guidelines advise a three-phase study consisting of a non-contrast phase and post-contrast phases at 20 and 40 seconds post intravenous contrast injection. Opacification of the superficial temporal or facial artery is required to confirm correct contrast administration. Cessation of cerebral circulation is diagnosed when there is bilateral absence of contrast in the middle cerebral arteries and internal cerebral veins on the second post-contrast phase.
Conclusion: CTA is emerging as a feasible ancillary test for the diagnosis of brain death and is currently endorsed by a number of European guidelines. The most widely used technique involves a three-phase study with evaluation of intracranial vessels in four anatomical locations.
Limitations: This study is limited by a paucity of literature and lack of consensus guidelines on imaging in brain death.
Funding for this study: None.
Has your study been approved by an ethics committee? Not applicable
Ethics committee - additional information: N/A

Author Block: T. A. Walpola, C. Yang, N. Dilhani, R. Iseki, T. Makino, T. N. Hoang, C. D. Kulathilake, I. Ichiro, A. Senoo; Tokyo/JP
Purpose: Speed-reading is a salient technique used among children to improve fast learning skills. The main aim of the present study is to assess the alterations of the brain’s functional connectivity networks identified in a speed-reading-trained native Sinhalese cohort.
Methods or Background: A cohort of 18 healthy native Sinhala-speaking adults (>18yrs) who volunteered to undergo fMRI (scanner: 3.0 T SIGNA Premier) were selected ((male, 11: female, 7), Age (mean; Stdv: 31;4.0) and dominant hand: Right). Participants read a simple Sinhala novel silently inside the scanner. Three scans at one-month intervals each were done; the first two were the control scans, and the third was the training scan after the intervention of speed-reading training. Image acquisition; fMRI sequence using GRE EPI (TR: 1000(ms) TE: 30(ms), characters per task block: 320-350). Data analysis was performed using CONN toolbox v.22.a.
Results or Findings: The reading speed (mean (Stdv)) increased from 213 (87) to 712 (200) wpm in the training group. The seed-based connectivity (SBC) results showed that the language network has increased significant connectivity, with 57 voxels (32%) covering 20% of Right Heschl’s gyrus and 68 (38%) voxels covering 15% of planum temporale (Significant increase threshold: p<0.05 cluster-size p-FDR corrected, voxel threshold: p<0.001 (p-uncorrected)). According to the generalized psychophysiological interactions (gPPI) results, the individual ROI analysis showed increased connectivity in the left posterior temporal gyrus with the bilateral visual lateral and occipital networks meanwhile a decreased connectivity with the visual medial network (p-FDR corrected <0.05).
Conclusion: The study concluded that the activation of Heschl’s gyrus; crucial for sound perception in reading, and planum temporale; responsible for phonological processing highlights the importance of some auditory processing regions related to quick recognition and comprehension of text during speed reading.
Limitations: Eye-tracking is not performed
Funding for this study: None
Has your study been approved by an ethics committee? Yes
Ethics committee - additional information: The Ethics have been approved by the Ethics Review Committee of Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
Approval No-22022

Author Block: R. Praveenkumar, F. Abubacker Sulaiman, J. Lydia; Chennai/IN
Purpose: This abstract examines the contributions of radiology to diagnosing and managing mental health disorders, emphasizing advanced imaging modalities' role in understanding neurobiological mechanisms.
Methods or Background: A systematic review of literature was conducted, focusing on the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and positron emission tomography (PET) in evaluating conditions such as schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Results or Findings: Key findings illustrate the impact of radiology on mental health care:

Structural Imaging: MRI and CT scans identify neuroanatomical changes in mental health disorders. For example, studies show reduced gray matter in the prefrontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia and altered hippocampal volumes in those with major depressive disorder.

Functional Imaging: PET and functional MRI (fMRI) enhance understanding of neural circuitry. Research indicates hyperactivity in the amygdala of individuals with anxiety disorders and altered connectivity in the default mode network in patients with depression.

Biomarker Discovery: Radiological imaging aids in identifying neurobiological biomarkers. Specific metabolic patterns in PET scans may predict treatment response in major depressive disorder, allowing for personalized therapy.

Therapeutic Monitoring: Imaging techniques monitor treatment efficacy. In patients receiving transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), imaging provides real-time assessments of changes in brain activity.
Conclusion: Radiology significantly enhances the understanding and management of mental health disorders through advanced imaging techniques, improving diagnostic accuracy and facilitating personalized treatment strategies.
Limitations: The review highlights the need for standardized imaging protocols and further research to correlate neuroimaging findings with clinical outcomes
Funding for this study: Not applicable
Has your study been approved by an ethics committee? Not applicable
Ethics committee - additional information: Not applicable

Author Block: M. Wang¹, C. Tan², J. Hakumäki¹; ¹Kuopio/FI, ²Changsha/CN
Purpose: This study integrates multimodal brain network data to explore alterations in structural-functional coupling across multi-scale brain networks in Parkinson’s disease patients with depression (PDD). By identifying potential imaging biomarkers, this research aims to enhance sustainable diagnostic processes, improving healthcare efficiency through accurate and early detection of depression in Parkinson’s disease.
Methods or Background: A total of 106 consecutive, drug-naïve Parkinson’s disease patients were prospectively enrolled and divided into PDD (n = 50, HAMD > 17, BDI > 10) and PDND (n = 56, HAMD < 7, BDI < 10) groups. All participants underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting-state MRI on a 3.0T scanner. Whole-brain functional and structural networks were constructed. Structural-functional coupling, intra- and inter-module connectivity, as well as topological parameters (e.g., clustering coefficient, local efficiency), were compared between the two groups. ROC curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of these parameters in differentiating PDD from PDND.
Results or Findings: PDD patients exhibited significantly lower whole-brain structural-functional coupling compared to PDND patients (P = 0.017, TFCE-corrected). At the module level, PDD patients showed increased structural-functional coupling within the default mode network (P = 0.032, TFCE-corrected). Additionally, PDD patients had significantly lower clustering coefficients (P = 0.007) and reduced local efficiency (P = 0.021) across the brain's structural network. ROC analysis combining these metrics demonstrated a sensitivity of 65% and a specificity of 77.7% for distinguishing PDD from PDND.
Conclusion: Altered multi-scale brain network structural-functional coupling in PDD suggests potential imaging biomarkers for more sustainable and precise diagnosis. These findings may help reduce unnecessary interventions and optimise healthcare resources by providing a non-invasive tool for early detection of depression in Parkinson’s disease.
Limitations: The limitation is the relatively small sample size.
Funding for this study: CSC funding No. 202306370155
Has your study been approved by an ethics committee? Not applicable
Ethics committee - additional information: The study received institutional review board approval, and written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Author Block: H. Ran, K. Huang, T. Zhang; ZunYi/CN
Purpose: Type2-diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is known to affect brain networks and cognitive function. Connectome gradient studies have suggested a primary-to-transmodal gradient in functional brain network. However, whether this gradient structure is disrupted in patients with T2DM are still ambiguous. The aim of this study is to investigate connectome gradient alterations and its potential contribution to cognitive function in T2DM.
Methods or Background: We recruited resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data of 45 participants (24 T2DM patients and 21 healthy controls) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were performed in patients with T2DM. We studied the related alterations in the principal and secondary connectome gradient between T2DM and healthy controls at the voxel and network levels. We further examined the associations between T2DM-related changes of connectome gradients and clinical variables. The RVR algorithm was employed to assess the predictive capacity of principal gradients in relation to cognitive function scores among patients diagnosed with T2DM
Results or Findings: Relative to the controls, T2DM patients extended gradient at different network-level and voxel-level. In the principal gradient, the left rolandic operculum, precuneus gradient score was negatively correlated with MMSE score and duration, respectively (r =-0.479, -0.481, P=0.028, 0.027)，and the connectome gradient alterations in ventral attention network was negatively correlated with MMSE and MoCA (r=-0.484, -0.435, P=0.026, 0.049). Patients’ principal gradient maps significantly predicted their MMSE (r = 0.465, P = 0.022).
Conclusion: We reported a systematically disrupted functional gradient in patients with T2DM and its negative correlation with cognitive function. These findings improve our comprehension the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie cognitive function and offer potential imaging biomarkers for the assessment of cognitive function in T2DM.
Limitations: The sample size of this study was relative small.
Funding for this study: This study was supported by Intelligent Medical Imaging Engineering Research Center of Guizhou Higher Education Institutions project (Grant No. Qianjiaoji [2023] 038).
Has your study been approved by an ethics committee? Yes
Ethics committee - additional information: Ethics approval of this research was granted by the Ethic Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University[KLL-2024-512]

Author Block: N. T. Hoang, T. Hada, C. D. Kulathilake, T. A. Walpola, N. Dilhani, A. Senoo; Tokyo/JP
Purpose: Our main objectives are to evaluate the brain connectivity in post-stroke aphasia (PSA) and its correlation with language ability.
Methods or Background: Tractography of 20 PSA was reconstructed by using deterministic algorithms. Brodmann atlas was used to brain parcellation. Connectivity analysis with following network measures: density (den), clustering coefficient (Cc), transitivity (trans), characteristic path length (CPL), small worldness (Sw), global efficiency (G_eff), radius (r), diameter (d), assortativity coefficient (A_coeff), rich-club coefficient (club_coeff) were extracted. All statistical analysis were performed using SPSS version 27.
Results or Findings: There are significantly lower value of CPL (p = 0.046), A_coeff (p = 0.026), diameter (p = 0.031), and higher value of G_eff (p = 0.046) in the high-level repetition group (n = 6) compared to the low-level repetition group (n = 14). This findings indicate the brain networks of the high-level group are more efficient in transferring information. Additionally, the network connections in the high-level group are more random or diverse regarding node characteristics, whereas networks in the low-level group may display more organized connections between similar nodes. There are strong positive correlations between the speaking sentence repetition and d (r = 0.593, p = 0.006), Sw (r = 0.580, p = 0.007), G_eff (r = 0.566, p = 0.009), and strong negative correlation between the speaking sentence repetition and CPL (r = 0.571, p = 0.009).
Conclusion: The high-level repetition group transfers information across regions more efficiently than the low-level group. It indicates the potential for rehabilitation strategies and emphasizing the need for personalized approaches in aphasia treatment.
Limitations: This research have some limitations. Our small sample cannot represent for PSA population. Additionally, the lack of longitudinal research is insufficient to determine the impact of network connectivity on language recovery.
Funding for this study: Research grant was provided by the Tokyo Global Partner Scholarship Program
Has your study been approved by an ethics committee? Yes
Ethics committee - additional information: This study is being approved by the ethics committee

Author Block: Z. Shu; Zhejiang, Hangzhou/CN
Purpose: This study aims to employ Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) and Oxygen Extraction Fraction (OEF) to assess the impact of caffeine consumption on local cerebral blood flow perfusion and brain oxygen metabolism.
Methods or Background: A prospective study was conducted involving 18 healthy young volunteers with no habitual caffeine consumption. ASL and OEF images were acquired both prior to and 90 minutes following the administration of 200 mg of caffeine. Voxel-based analysis was employed to quantify alterations in brain oxygen metabolism across various cerebral regions before and after caffeine consumption. Regional cerebral blood flow perfusion was assessed in areas exhibiting changes in brain oxygen metabolism, with a focus on evaluating the extent of perfusion variation subsequent to caffeine intake. Additionally, the correlation between OEF indices in regions with modified cerebral blood flow and shifts in Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) scores was analyzed.
Results or Findings: In regions exhibiting alterations in brain oxygen metabolism following caffeine consumption, significant reductions in cerebral blood flow perfusion were identified within the medial occipital-temporal areas of both hemispheres, the right anterior cingulate gyrus, the left postcentral gyrus, and the left cerebellum (P<0.05). Notably, only the left cerebellum demonstrated an increase in brain oxygen metabolism. A negative relationship between brain oxygen metabolism and cerebral blood flow perfusion in the left cerebellum after caffeine intake (r=-0.5, p<0.05). Furthermore, a negative correlation was observed between changes in brain oxygen metabolism and shifts in KSS scores before and after caffeine consumption (r=-0.738, p<0.05).
Conclusion: The increase in brain oxygen metabolism in the left cerebellum may compensate for the reduced cerebral blood flow perfusion following acute caffeine intake, which could be a key factor in reducing drowsiness.
Limitations: The research sample size only focuses on young people
Funding for this study: The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.82101983)
Has your study been approved by an ethics committee? Yes
Ethics committee - additional information: Ethics Committee of Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital