Right Superior Temporal Gyrus Altered Functional Activity in Patients With Definite Vestibular Migraine

The study aimed to investigate resting-state functional brain activity alterations in patients with definite vestibular migraine (dVM). Seventeen patients with dVM, 8 patients with migraine, 17 health controls (HCs) were recruited. The amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF), fractional ALFF (fALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) were calculated to observe the changes in spontaneous brain activity. Then brain regions with altered fALFF were selected for seed-based functional connectivity analysis. Compared with HCs, VM patients showed significantly increased ALFF values in the right temporal lobe (Cluster size = 91 voxels, P=0.002, FWE corrected), and significantly increased ReHo values in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG), middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) (Cluster size = 136 voxels, P=0.013, FWE corrected). Compared with patients with migraine, patients with VM showed significantly increased fALFF values in the right parietal lobe (Cluster size = 43 voxels, P=0.011, FWE corrected) and right frontal lobe (Cluster size =36 voxels, P=0.026, FWE corrected), significantly increased ReHo values in the right thalamus (Cluster size = 92 voxels, P=0.043, FWE corrected). Our findings documented that patients with VM showed enhanced spontaneous functional activity in the right temporal lobe (STG, MTG, and ITG) compared with HCs, and increased spontaneous activity in the right parietal lobe-frontal lobe-thalamus compared with patients with migraine. Patients with VM and migraine both had altered brain function, but the regions involved are different.

Gray matter volume alterations in patients with strabismus and amblyopia: voxel-based morphometry study

This study proposes the use of the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) technique to investigate structural alterations of the cerebral cortex in patients with strabismus and amblyopia (SA). Sixteen patients with SA and sixteen healthy controls (HCs) underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Original whole brain images were analyzed using the VBM method. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between mean gray matter volume (GMV) and clinical manifestations. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to classify the mean GMV values of the SA group and HCs. Compared with the HCs, GMV values in the SA group showed a significant difference in the right superior temporal gyrus, posterior and anterior lobes of the cerebellum, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, and left anterior cingulate cortex. The mean GMV value in the right superior temporal gyrus, posterior and anterior lobes of the cerebellum, and bilateral parahippocampal gyrus were negatively correlated with the angle of strabismus. The ROC curve analysis of each cerebral region confirmed the accuracy of the area under the curve. Patients with SA have reduced GMV values in some brain regions. These findings might help to reveal the potential pathogenesis of SA and its relationship with the atrophy of specific regions of the brain.

Comparative Study of Brain fMRI of Olfactory Stimulation in Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disease and Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: To observe the characteristics of brain fMRI during olfactory stimulation in patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disease (NMOSD) and multiple sclerosis (MS), compare the differences of brain functional activation areas between patients with NMOSD and MS, and explore the characteristics of olfactory-related brain networks of NMOSD and MS.Methods: Nineteen patients with NMOSD and 16 patients with MS who met the diagnostic criteria were recruited, and 19 healthy controls matched by sex and age were recruited. The olfactory function of all participants was assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS). Olfactory stimulation was alternately performed using a volatile body (lavender and rose solution) and the difference in brain activation was evaluated by task-taste fMRI scanning simultaneously.Results: Activation intensity was weaker in the NMOSD group than in the healthy controls, including the left rectus, right superior temporal gyrus, and left cuneus. The activation intensity was stronger for the NMOSD than the controls in the left insula and left middle frontal gyrus (P < 0.05). Activation intensity was weaker in the MS group than the healthy controls in the bilateral hippocampus, right parahippocampal gyrus, right insula, left rectus gyrus, and right precentral gyrus, and stronger in the left paracentral lobule among the MS than the controls (P < 0.05). Compared with the MS group, activation intensity in the NMOSD group was weaker in the right superior temporal gyrus and left paracentral lobule, while it was stronger among the NMOSD group in the bilateral insula, bilateral hippocampus, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, left inferior orbital gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, left putamen, and left middle frontal gyrus (P < 0.05).Conclusion: Olfactory-related brain networks are altered in both patients, and there are differences between their olfactory-related brain networks. It may provide a new reference index for the clinical differentiation and disease evaluation of NMOSD and MS. Moreover, further studies are needed.

Children with Strabismus and Amblyopia Presented Abnormal Spontaneous Brain Activities Measured through Fractional Amplitude of Low-frequency Fluctuation (fALFF)

Purpose: Based on fMRI technology, we explored whether children with strabismus and amblyopia (SA) showed significant change in fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) values in specific brain regions compared with healthy controls, and whether this change could point to the clinical manifestations and pathogenesis of children with strabismus to a certain extent.Methods: We enrolled 23 children with SA and same number matched healthy control in the ophthalmology department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, and the whole brain was scanned by rs-fMRI. The fALFF value of each brain area was derived to examine whether there is a statistical difference in the two groups. Meanwhile, ROC curve was made in a view to evaluate whether this difference proves useful as a diagnostic index. Finally, analyze whether changes in the fALFF value of some specific brain regions are related to clinical manifestations.Results: report to HCs children with SA presented a decreased fALFF values in left temporal pole: the superior temporal gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus, right superior frontal gyrus, right supplementary motor area. Meanwhile, they also showed higher fALFF values in specific brain areas, which included left precentral gyrus, left inferior Parietal, left Precuneus.Conclusion: Children with SA showed abnormal fALFF values in different brain regions. Most of these regions were allocated to the visual formation pathway. The eye movement-related pathway or other visual-related pathways, suggesting the pathological mechanism of the patient.

Neural processing associated with Cognitive Empathy in Pedophilia and Child Sexual Offending

Behavioral studies found evidence for superior cognitive empathy (CE) in pedophilic men without a history of child sexual offending (P-CSO) compared to pedophilic men with a history of CSO (P+CSO). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies also point to differences between P-CSO and P+CSO. Neural processing associated with CE has not yet been investigated. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the neural correlates of CE in subjects with pedophilia with (P+CSO) and without (P-CSO) child sexual offending. 15 P+CSO, 15 P-CSO, and 24 teleiophilic male controls (TC) performed a CE task during fMRI. We observed reduced activation in the left precuneus (Pcu) and increased activation in the left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in P-CSO compared to P+CSO. P-CSO also showed stronger connectivity between these regions, which might reflect a top-down modulation of the Pcu by the ACC toward an increased self-focused emotional reaction in social situations. There was also evidence for increased right superior temporal gyrus activation in P-CSO that might constitute a potentially compensatory recruitment due to the dampened Pcu activation. These findings provide first evidence for altered neural processing of CE in P-CSO and underline the importance of addressing CE in pedophilia and CSO in order to uncover processes relevant to effective prevention of child sexual abuse.

The Neural Basis of Social Cognition in Typically Developing Children and Its Relationship to Social Functioning

Theory of mind (ToM), the ability to think about the perspectives, beliefs, and feelings of another, develops throughout childhood and adolescence and is an important skill for social interactions. This study examines neural activity in typically developing children during a novel ToM task – the Movie Mentalizing Task– and tests its relations to ToM behavioral performance and social functioning. In this fMRI task, children ages 8–13years (N=25) watched a brief movie clip and were asked to predict a character’s mental state after a social interaction. Engaging in the Movie Mentalizing Task activated the ToM neural network. Moreover, greater neural activity in the ToM network, including the superior temporal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus, was associated with better behavioral performance on independent ToM tasks and was related to better social functioning, though these results do not survive correction for multiple comparisons. Results offer a new affective theory of mind task for children in the scanner that robustly recruits activity in theory of mind regions.

Associations of Central Auditory Processing With Brain Volumes

We investigated the cross-sectional associations of speech-in-noise performance with magnetic resonance imaging brain volumes among 588 cognitively normal participants (77±4 years, 56% female) from the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders Study (randomized trial embedded in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study) baseline in 2018-19 (N=427, with hearing loss) and ARIC (N=161, normal hearing) Visit 6/7 in 2016-17/2018-19. Central auditory processing was measured by Quick Speech-in-Noise (QuickSIN) test; range: 0 to 30, lower scores=worse performance. In models adjusted for demographic and disease covariates, every 5-point decrease in QuickSIN score was associated with smaller volumes of the temporal lobe overall (-0.07SD, 95% CI:-0.13,-0.01) as well as subregions including but not limited to those important for auditory processing (amygdala:-0.13SD, 95% CI:-0.21,-0.04; middle temporal gyrus:-0.08SD, 95% CI:-0.15,-0.00; superior temporal gyrus:-0.08SD, 95% CI:-0.15,-0.01). Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms underlying these observed associations.

Musical experience relates to functional connectivity in older adults

Previous studies have shown that engaging in musical activities throughout the lifespan may buffer age-related decline in auditory and motor function, as well as in general cognitive function. MRI studies have demonstrated that individuals with musical training and experience exhibited greater grey matter volume and functional connectivity in extensive brain regions, especially in auditory and motor systems, compared to matched controls with no particular musical training or experience. Therefore, musical activity is a potential protective factor for brain health across lifespan. However, how lifespan musical experience shapes functional connectivity in older adults is still unknown. The current analysis investigated whether general musical experience (Goldsmith Music Sophistication Index) is associated with functional connectivity in older adults (age=65.7±4.4, n=69), focusing on seed regions in primary motor areas (bilateral precentral gyrus) and primary auditory regions (bilateral anterior/posterior superior temporal gyrus) and their functional connectivity towards other areas throughout the whole brain. We found that older adults with more musical experience showed greater functional connectivity between anterior superior temporal gyrus and insula (R2=0.10, p=0.01), and between posterior superior temporal gyrus and cerebellum (R2=0.08, p=0.02). However, musical experience and music-related functional connectivity was not significantly correlated with general cognitive functions in our sample. Overall, our findings suggest that older adults with more musical experience might be more efficient in some aspects of auditory processing and auditory-motor skills, but this may not transfer towards domain-general cognitive tests. Our results support the notion that even non-professional engagement in musical experiences may afford benefits to the aging brain.

Aphasia and a Dual-Stream Language Model in a 4-Year-Old Female with Landau–Kleffner Syndrome

Landau–Kleffner syndrome (LKS) is a rare neurological disorder characterized by acquired aphasia. LKS presents with distinctive electroencephalography (EEG) findings, including diffuse continuous spike and wave complexes (CSW), particularly during sleep. There has been little research on the mechanisms of aphasia and its origin within the brain and how it recovers. We diagnosed LKS in a 4-year-old female with an epileptogenic zone located primarily in the right superior temporal gyrus or STG (nondominant side). In the course of her illness, she had early signs of motor aphasia recovery but was slow to regain language comprehension and recover from hearing loss. We suggest that the findings from our patient's brain imaging and the disparity between her recovery from expressive and receptive aphasias are consistent with the dual-stream model of speech processing in which the nondominant hemisphere also plays a significant role in language comprehension. Unlike aphasia in adults, the right-hemisphere disorder has been reported to cause delays in language comprehension and gestures in early childhood. In the period of language acquisition, it requires a process of understanding what the words mean by integrating and understanding the visual, auditory, and contextual information. It is thought that the right hemisphere works predominantly with respect to its integrating role.