Competing Programs Shape Cortical Sensorimotor-Association Axis Development.

The neocortex is organized along a dominant sensorimotor-to-association (S-A) axis, anchored by modality-specific primary sensorimotor areas at one end and transmodal association areas that form distributed networks supporting abstract cognition at the other. The developmental mechanisms shaping this axis remain elusive. Here, we present converging multispecies evidence supporting the Multinodal Induction-Exclusion in Network Development (MIND) model, in which S-A patterning is governed by competing processes of induction and exclusion, driven by opposing transcriptomically-defined identity programs emerging from different nodes.

Brain network dynamics reflect psychiatric illness status and transdiagnostic symptom profiles across health and disease.

The network organization of the human brain dynamically reconfigures in response to changing environmental demands, an adaptive process that may be disrupted in a symptom-relevant manner across psychiatric illnesses. Here, in a transdiagnostic sample of participants with (n=134) and without (n=85) psychiatric diagnoses, functional connectomes from intrinsic (resting-state) and task-evoked fMRI were decomposed to identify constraints on brain network dynamics across six cognitive states. Hierarchical clustering of 110 clinical, behavioral, and cognitive measures identified participant-specific symptom profiles, revealing four core dimensions of functioning: internalizing, externalizing, cognitive, and social/reward.

Decoding human brain evolution: Insights from genomics.

The human brain has undergone remarkable structural and functional specializations compared to that of nonhuman primates (NHPs), underlying the advanced cognitive abilities unique to humans. However, the cellular and genetic basis driving these specializations remains largely unknown. Comparing humans to our closest living relatives, chimpanzee and other great apes, is essential for identifying truly human-specific features.

Multiscale Heterogeneity of White Matter Morphometry in Psychiatric Disorders.

Background: Interindividual variability in the neurobiological and clinical characteristics of mental illnesses are often overlooked by classical group-mean case-control studies. Studies using normative modeling to infer person-specific deviations of gray matter volume have indicated that group means are not representative of most individuals. The extent to which this variability is present in white matter morphometry, which is integral to brain function, remains unclear.

Network-based Molecular Constraints on Synaptic Density Alterations in Schizophrenia.

Converging neuroimaging, genetic, and post-mortem evidence show a fundamental role of synaptic deficits in schizophrenia pathogenesis. However, the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms that drive the onset and progression of synaptic pathology remain to be established. Here, we used synaptic density positron emission tomography (PET) imaging using the [C]UCB-J radiotracer to reveal a prominent widespread pattern ( < 0.

Embracing variability in the search for biological mechanisms of psychiatric illness.

Despite decades of research, we lack objective diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers of mental health problems. A key reason for this limited progress is a reliance on the traditional case-control paradigm, which assumes that each disorder has a single cause that can be uncovered by comparing average phenotypic values of patient and control samples. Here, we discuss the problematic assumptions on which this paradigm is based and highlight recent efforts that seek to characterize, rather than minimize, the inherent clinical and biological variability that underpins psychiatric populations.

Multiscale heterogeneity of white matter morphometry in psychiatric disorders.

Background: Inter-individual variability in neurobiological and clinical characteristics in mental illness is often overlooked by classical group-mean case-control studies. Studies using normative modelling to infer person-specific deviations of grey matter volume have indicated that group means are not representative of most individuals. The extent to which this variability is present in white matter morphometry, which is integral to brain function, remains unclear.

Brainwide Anatomical Connectivity and Prediction of Longitudinal Outcomes in Antipsychotic-Naïve First-Episode Psychosis.

Background: Disruptions of axonal connectivity are thought to be a core pathophysiological feature of psychotic illness, but whether they are present early in the illness, prior to antipsychotic exposure, and whether they can predict clinical outcome remain unknown.

Methods: We acquired diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images to map structural connectivity between each pair of 319 parcellated brain regions in 61 antipsychotic-naïve individuals with first-episode psychosis (15-25 years, 46% female) and a demographically matched sample of 27 control participants. Clinical follow-up data were also acquired in patients 3 and 12 months after the scan.

Mode-based morphometry: A multiscale approach to mapping human neuroanatomy.

Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and surface-based morphometry (SBM) are two widely used neuroimaging techniques for investigating brain anatomy. These techniques rely on statistical inferences at individual points (voxels or vertices), clusters of points, or a priori regions-of-interest. They are powerful tools for describing brain anatomy, but offer little insights into the generative processes that shape a particular set of findings.

A multiscale characterization of cortical shape asymmetries in early psychosis.

Psychosis has often been linked to abnormal cortical asymmetry, but prior results have been inconsistent. Here, we applied a novel spectral shape analysis to characterize cortical shape asymmetries in patients with early psychosis across different spatial scales. We used the Human Connectome Project for Early Psychosis dataset (aged 16-35), comprising 56 healthy controls (37 males, 19 females) and 112 patients with early psychosis (68 males, 44 females).

A shared spatial topography links the functional connectome correlates of cocaine use disorder and dopamine D receptor densities.

Background: The biological mechanisms that contribute to cocaine and other substance use disorders involve an array of cortical and subcortical systems. Prior work on the development and maintenance of substance use has largely focused on cortico-striatal circuits, with relatively less attention on alterations within and across large-scale functional brain networks, and associated aspects of the dopamine system. The brain-wide pattern of temporal co-activation between distinct brain regions, referred to as the functional connectome, underpins individual differences in behavior.

Mode-based morphometry: A multiscale approach to mapping human neuroanatomy.

Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and surface-based morphometry (SBM) are two widely used neuroimaging techniques for investigating brain anatomy. These techniques rely on statistical inferences at individual points (voxels or vertices), clusters of points, or a priori regions-of-interest. They are powerful tools for describing brain anatomy, but offer little insights into the generative processes that shape a particular set of findings.