Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging RSS feed: Current Issue. The Neuroimaging section of Psychiatry Research publishes manuscripts on positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, computerized electroencephalographic topography, regional cerebral blood flow, computed tomography, magnetoencephalography, autoradiography, post-mortem regional analyses, and other imaging techniques. Reports concerning results in psychiatric disorders, dementias, and the effects of behaviorial tasks and pharmacological treatments are featured. We also invite manuscripts on the methods of obtaining images and computer processing of the images themselves. Selected case reports are also published. http://www.psyn-journal.com/?rss=yesElsevier Inc.en © 2012 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging0925-4927201228 February 2012 © 2012 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. healthpermissions@elsevier.comhttp://www.psyn-journal.com/article/PIIS0925492712000479/abstract?rss=yesEditorial Board10.1016/S0925-4927(12)00047-9Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 201, 2 (2012)2012-02-28Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging2012-02-282012S0925-4927(12)X0003-9IFCIFChttp://www.psyn-journal.com/article/PIIS0925492711002010/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Heroin users on methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) have elevated rates of co-morbid depression and are associated with have higher relapse rates for substance abuse. Structural abnormalities in MMT patients have been reported, but their impact on clinical performance is unknown. We investigated differences in gray matter volume (GMV) between 27 MMT patients and 23 healthy controls with voxel-based morphometry, and we correlated findings in the patients with Beck Depression Inventory scores, Beck Anxiety Inventory scores, and diminished cognitive functioning. MMT patients exhibited higher emotional deficits than healthy subjects. There was significantly smaller GMV in multiple cortices, especially in the left inferior frontal gyrus and left cerebellar vermis in the MMT group. The smaller GMV in the pre-frontal cortices, left sub-callosal cingulate gyrus, left post-central gyrus, left insula, and right cerebellar declive correlated with higher depression scores. The smaller GMV in the pre-frontal cortices, left sub-callosal cingulate gyrus, and left postcentral gyrus also correlated with higher anxiety scores, while smaller GMV in the cerebellum and bilateral insula was associated with impaired performance on tests of executive function. These results reveal that MMT patients have low GMV in brain regions that are hypothesized to influence cognition and emotion, and the GMV findings might be involved comorbid disorders in the MMT group.Structural deficits in the emotion circuit and cerebellum are associated with depression, anxiety and cognitive dysfunction in methadone maintenance patients: A voxel-based morphometric studyWei-Che Lin, Kun-Hsien Chou, Hsiu-Ling Chen, Chu-Chung Huang, Cheng-Hsien Lu, Shau-Hsuan Li, Ya-Ling Wang, Yu-Fan Cheng, Ching-Po Lin, Chien-Chih Chen10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.05.009Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 201, 2 (2012)2012-03-14Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging2012-03-142012S0925-4927(12)X0003-9Structural magnetic resonance imaging8997http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/PIIS0925492711003015/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Depression is associated with three distinct alterations in memory functioning: mood-congruent recall, overgenerality, and intrusive memories. These concern the autobiographical memory system, yet no previous studies have examined the neural correlates of autobiographical memory function in depression. In the present study we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess depressed and control participants during an autobiographical memory task. In their first visit to the laboratory, participants wrote a narrative account of a distressing event. Participants were scanned during the second visit while they viewed old items from their narrative and new words or phrases in a recognition memory task. Activity common to both groups during the successful identification of personal emotional memories was observed in regions previously associated with autobiographical memory retrieval. Reduced activity in the depressed group was observed in three regions of the prefrontal cortex associated with cognitive, emotional, and memory inhibition. These results are consistent with a failure by depressed individuals to inhibit task-irrelevant information during an autobiographical memory task.Autobiographical memory in depression: An fMRI studyMatthew G. Whalley, Michael D. Rugg, Chris R. Brewin10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.08.008Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 201, 2 (2012)2012-03-14Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging2012-03-142012S0925-4927(12)X0003-9Functional magnetic resonance imaging98106http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/PIIS0925492711002071/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Abnormalities in amygdala activity have been implicated in adolescents and older adults with major depressive disorder (MDD), but few studies have focused on young adults with early-onset MDD. In this study, we measured amygdala activity in 27 young adults with early-onset MDD and 25 healthy controls (HC) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with an emotional processing task. Both groups showed significant bilateral activation within the amygdala to threat-related facial expressions. In the matching face task, the activations of the left amygdala, thalamus, prefrontal and temporal cortex were significantly greater while the activation of the right prefrontal was significantly lower for the MDD group compared with the HC group. For the MDD group, there was a significant positive correlation between the activity of the amygdala and scores on the Chinese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Overall, our findings suggest that young adults with early-onset MDD may be characterized by abnormalities in nodes along the fronto-limbic pathways when facing threat-related facial expression.Elevated amygdala activity to negative faces in young adults with early onset major depressive disorderZhong Mingtian, Yao Shuqiao, Zhu Xiongzhao, Yi Jinyao, Zhu Xueling, Wang Xiang, Luo Yingzi, Liao Jian, Wang Wei10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.06.003Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 201, 2 (2012)2012-03-14Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging2012-03-142012S0925-4927(12)X0003-9Functional magnetic resonance imaging107112http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/PIIS092549271100271X/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Several studies have reported that anorexia nervosa (AN) patients have high levels of alexithymia. However, relatively little is known about the underlying neurobiological relationships between alexithymia and AN. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the brain responses in 30 AN patients and 20 healthy women during the processing of negative words concerning interpersonal relationships. We investigated the relationship between alexithymia levels and brain activation in AN. AN patients showed significant activation of the orbitofrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and medial prefrontal cortex while processing negative words concerning interpersonal relationships, as compared to the processing of neutral words. Moreover, the subjective rating of unpleasantness with negative words and neural activities in the amygdala, posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) negatively correlated with the level of alexithymia in AN. Our neuroimaging results suggest that AN patients tend to cognitively process negative words concerning interpersonal relationships, resulting in activation of the prefrontal cortex. Lower activation of the amygdala, PCC and ACC in response to these words may contribute to the impairments of emotional processing that are hallmarks of alexithymia. Functional abnormalities associated with alexithymia may be involved in the emotional processing impairments in AN patients.Brain activation during the perception of stressful word stimuli concerning interpersonal relationships in anorexia nervosa patients with high degrees of alexithymia in an fMRI paradigmYoshie Miyake, Yasumasa Okamoto, Keiichi Onoda, Naoko Shirao, Yuri Okamoto, Shigeto Yamawaki10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.07.014Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 201, 2 (2012)2012-03-14Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging2012-03-142012S0925-4927(12)X0003-9Functional magnetic resonance imaging113119http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/PIIS0925492711002411/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: A previous study indicated that adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had a decreased anti-correlation between the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the default mode network (DMN). In this study, we investigated whether children with ADHD also show a decreased anti-correlation between the dACC and the DMN. We also explored the developmental characteristics of the resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the dACC with the DMN in children with ADHD. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained from a 3T scanner in 19 drug-naïve boys with ADHD and 23 controls. Compared with normal controls, the dACC in boys with ADHD showed a significantly decreased negative RSFC with the DMN, including the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex. The RSFC strength between the dACC and the posterior cingulate cortex showed a significantly negative correlation with age in normal controls, but not in boys with ADHD. This decreased anti-correlation may suggest an abnormal balance or interaction between attentional and intrinsic thoughts. Our age-related analysis suggested an abnormal development pattern of the dACC-DMN interaction in ADHD.Abnormal functional connectivity between the anterior cingulate and the default mode network in drug-naïve boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorderLi Sun, Qingjiu Cao, Xiangyu Long, Manqiu Sui, Xiaohua Cao, Chaozhe Zhu, Xinian Zuo, Li An, Yan Song, Yufeng Zang, Yufeng Wang10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.07.001Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 201, 2 (2012)2012-03-19Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging2012-03-192012S0925-4927(12)X0003-9Functional magnetic resonance imaging120127http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/PIIS0925492711002782/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: It is hypothesized that the development of substance abuse (SA) may be due to imbalance in functions of the motivation-reward and behavioral inhibition systems in the brain. This speaks to the search for biological risk factors for SA in drug-naïve children who also exhibit motivational and inhibitory control deficits; however, this type of research is currently lacking. The objective of this study was to establish a neurobiological basis for addiction vulnerability using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in drug-naïve youth with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We hypothesized that children with ADHD alone would show higher activity in regions of the motivation-reward and behavioral inhibition systems than children with ADHD and a parental history of SA. Toward this goal we scanned 20 drug-naïve children with ADHD ages 8–13 while performing an event-related reward task. High (N=10) and low (N=10) risk subjects were identified, based on parental history of SA. The effects of anticipation, conflict, and reward were assessed with appropriate linear contrasts, and between-group differences were assessed using statistical parametric mapping. The two groups did not differ on behavioral measures of the task. The fMRI results show heightened activation in the brain motivational-reward system and reduced activation of the inhibitory control system in high-risk compared to low-risk children. These results suggest that a functional mismatch between these two systems may represent one possible biological underpinning of SA risk, which is conferred by a parental history of addiction.Parental substance abuse and function of the motivation and behavioral inhibition systems in drug-naïve youthIliyan Ivanov, Xun Liu, Kurt Shulz, Jin Fan, Edythe London, Karl Friston, Jeffrey M. Halperin, Jeffrey H. Newcorn10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.08.004Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 201, 2 (2012)2012-03-14Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging2012-03-142012S0925-4927(12)X0003-9Functional magnetic resonance imaging128135http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/PIIS0925492711002502/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Several studies have suggested that white matter integrity is disrupted in some brain regions in patients with schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to assess the white matter integrity of the cingulum, uncinate fasciculus, fornix, and corpus callosum using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Participants comprised 39 patients with schizophrenia (19 males and 20 females) and 40 age-matched normal controls (20 males and 20 females). We quantitatively assessed the fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the anterior cingulum, body of the cingulum, uncinate fasciculus, fornix, and corpus callosum on a tract-specific basis using diffusion tensor tractography (DTT). Group differences in FA and ADC between the patients and normal controls were sought. Additional exploratory analyses of the relationship between the FA or ADC and four clinical parameters (i.e., illness duration, positive symptom scores, negative symptom scores, and medication dosage) were performed. Results were analyzed in gender-combined and gender-separated group comparisons. FA was significantly lower on both sides of the anterior cingulum, uncinate fasciculus, and fornix in the schizophrenia patients irrespective of gender group separation. In the gender-combined analyses, significantly higher ADC values were demonstrated in the schizophrenia patients in both sides of the anterior cingulum, body of the cingulum and uncinate fasciculus, the left fornix, and the corpus callosum, compared with those of the normal controls. In the gender-separated analyses, the male patients showed higher ADC in the left anterior cingulum, the bilateral cingulum bodies, and the bilateral uncinate fasciculi. The female patients showed higher ADC in the right anterior cingulum, the left fornix, and the bilateral uncinate fasciculus. In correlation analyses, a significant negative correlation was found between illness duration and ADC in the right anterior cingulum in the gender-combined analyses. The gender-separated analyses found that the male patients had a significant negative correlation between negative symptom scores and FA in the right fornix, a positive correlation between illness duration and FA in the right anterior cingulum, and a negative correlation between illness duration and FA in the left uncinate fasciculus. Our DTI study showed that the integrity of white matter is disrupted in patients with schizophrenia. The results of our sub-analyses suggest that changes in FA and ADC may be related to negative symptom scores or illness duration.Tract-specific analysis of white matter integrity disruption in schizophreniaNatsuko Kunimatsu, Shigeki Aoki, Akira Kunimatsu, Osamu Abe, Haruyasu Yamada, Yoshitaka Masutani, Kiyoto Kasai, Hidenori Yamasue, Kuni Ohtomo10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.07.010Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 201, 2 (2012)2012-03-14Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging2012-03-142012S0925-4927(12)X0003-9Diffusion tensor imaging136143http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/PIIS0925492711002770/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Over the last 10 years, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has become an important tool to investigate white matter (WM) anomalies in schizophrenia. Despite technological improvement and the exponential use of this technique, discrepancies remain and little is known about optimal parameters to apply for diffusion weighting during image acquisition. Specifically, high b-value diffusion-weighted imaging known to be more sensitive to slow diffusion is not widely used, even though subtle myelin alterations as thought to happen in schizophrenia are likely to affect slow-diffusing protons. Schizophrenia patients and healthy controls were scanned with a high b-value (4000s/mm2) protocol. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measures turned out to be very sensitive in detecting differences between schizophrenia patients and healthy volunteers even in a relatively small sample. We speculate that this is related to the sensitivity of high b-value imaging to the slow-diffusing compartment believed to reflect mainly the intra-axonal and myelin bound water pool. We also compared these results to a low b-value imaging experiment performed on the same population in the same scanning session. Even though the acquisition protocols are not strictly comparable, we noticed important differences in sensitivities in the favor of high b-value imaging, warranting further exploration.High b-value diffusion-weighted imaging: A sensitive method to reveal white matter differences in schizophreniaPhilipp Sebastian Baumann, Leila Cammoun, Philippe Conus, Kim Quang Do, Pierre Marquet, Djalel Meskaldji, Reto Meuli, Jean-Philippe Thiran, Patric Hagmann10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.08.003Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 201, 2 (2012)2012-03-14Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging2012-03-142012S0925-4927(12)X0003-9Diffusion tensor imaging144151http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/PIIS0925492711003039/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: The majority of patients with schizophrenia smoke cigarettes. Both nicotine use and schizophrenia have been associated with alterations in brain white matter microstructure as measured by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The purpose of this study was to examine fractional anisotropy (FA) in smoking and non-smoking patients with schizophrenia and in healthy volunteers. A total of 43 patients (28 smoking and 15 non-smoking) with schizophrenia and 40 healthy, non-smoking participants underwent DTI. Mean FA was calculated in four global regions of interest (ROIs) (whole brain, cerebellum, brainstem, and total cortical) as well as in four regional ROIs (frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes). The non-smoking patient group had a significantly higher intellectual quotient (IQ) compared with the patients who smoked, and our results varied according to whether IQ was included as a covariate. Without IQ correction, significant between-group effects for FA were found in four ROIs: total brain, total cortical, frontal lobe and the occipital lobe. In all cases the FA was lower among the smoking patient group, and highest in the control group. Smoking patients differed significantly from non-smoking patients in the frontal lobe ROI. However, these differences were no longer significant after IQ correction. FA differences between non-smoking patients and controls were not significant. Among smoking and non-smoking patients with schizophrenia but not healthy controls, FA was correlated with IQ. In conclusion, group effects of smoking on FA in schizophrenia might be mediated by IQ. Further, low FA in specific brain areas may be a neural marker for complex pathophysiology and risk for diverse problems such as schizophrenia, low IQ, and nicotine addiction.Cigarette smoking and white matter microstructure in schizophreniaKathryn R. Cullen, Stuart Wallace, Vincent A. Magnotta, Jeremy Bockholt, Stefan Ehrlich, Randy L. Gollub, Dara S. Manoach, Beng C. Ho, Vincent P. Clark, John Lauriello, Juan R. Bustillo, S. Charles Schulz, Nancy C. Andreasen, Vince D. Calhoun, Kelvin O. Lim, Tonya White10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.08.010Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 201, 2 (2012)2012-03-14Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging2012-03-142012S0925-4927(12)X0003-9Diffusion tensor imaging152158http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/PIIS0925492711002307/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: Episodic memory dysfunction, commonly assessed with word list recall, is the main characteristic of amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI). While brain pathology underlying this kind of memory impairment is well established in aMCI, little is known about the effect of neurodegeneration on autobiographical memory. The present study investigated neuronal correlates of autobiographical memory in aMCI patients (n=12) and healthy elderly controls (n=13) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Additionally, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was employed to reveal brain pathology in aMCI patients. Neuropsychological assessment showed significant impairment in episodic memory tasks (immediate and delayed word list recall) in aMCI patients. Moreover, VBM revealed significantly reduced gray matter concentration, which was most pronounced in the temporal lobes of aMCI patients. Despite episodic memory impairment and atrophy in areas that are associated with encoding and recall of episodic memories, aMCI patients showed no alterations in brain activation associated with autobiographical memory retrieval. These findings could suggest that autobiographical memory is subserved by a different neuronal network than episodic memory and that the two memory systems are differently affected by aMCI.Neural correlates of autobiographical memory in amnestic Mild Cognitive ImpairmentSilke Matura, Kathrin Muth, Jörg Magerkurth, Henrik Walter, Johannes Klein, Corinna Haenschel, Johannes Pantel10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.06.007Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 201, 2 (2012)2012-03-16Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging2012-03-162012S0925-4927(12)X0003-9Multimodal imaging159167http://www.psyn-journal.com/article/PIIS0925492711002794/abstract?rss=yesAbstract: The objective of the present study was to investigate the microstructure and the macrostructure of the corpus callosum (CC) in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Twenty-nine participants with ADHD and 37 controls were included from the Norwegian ADHD project in Bergen. We measured the fractional anisotropy (FA) values, as well as the size of different subdivisions of the CC, using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and anatomical MRI. The isthmus/splenium part of the CC in the ADHD group showed reduced FA values compared to the control group, whereas the size of the CC did not differ across groups. Our findings thus demonstrate a divergence between microstructural and macrostructural measures in the CC of adults with ADHD. This contrasts with findings in children demonstrating callosal abnormalities in both microstructure and macrostructure. Our results may indicate that adults with ADHD in part have succeeded in passing by an earlier developmental delay of the CC, resulting in a normalization of callosal macrostructure into adulthood. However, microstructural differences are still present in adults, which may point to an abnormal lateralization in adults with ADHD, or could be a sign of a persisting impairment.Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — A diffusion-tensor imaging study of the corpus callosumMargaretha Dramsdahl, René Westerhausen, Jan Haavik, Kenneth Hugdahl, Kerstin J. Plessen10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.08.005Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 201, 2 (2012)2012-03-14Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging2012-03-142012S0925-4927(12)X0003-9Multimodal imaging168173