Dissecting human cortical similarity networks across the lifespan.

The human cortex exhibits remarkable morphometric similarity between regions; however, the form and extent of lifespan network remodeling remain unknown. Here, we show the spatiotemporal maturation of morphometric brain networks, using multimodal neuroimaging data from 33,937 healthy participants aged 0-80 years. Global architecture matures from birth to early adulthood through enhanced modularity and small worldness.

Population-specific brain charts reveal Chinese-Western differences in neurodevelopmental trajectories.

Human brain charts provide unprecedented opportunities for decoding neurodevelopmental milestones and establishing clinical benchmarks for precision brain medicine . However, current lifespan brain charts are primarily derived from European and North American cohorts, with Asian populations severely underrepresented. Here, we present the first population-specific brain charts for China, developed through the Chinese Lifespan Brain Mapping Consortium (Phase I) using neuroimaging data from 43,037 participants (aged 0-100 years) across 384 sites nationwide.

Ictal emotional features in pediatric and young adult patients with frontal lobe epilepsy.

Objective: To assess the localization and lateralization values of ictal emotional features and ictal defensive behaviors in pediatric and young adult patients with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE).

Methods: Children and young adults with FLE were identified from a single institution's epilepsy surgery database. Two epileptologists determined by consensus the presence of ictal emotional features (positive- smile, laughter, humming, singing; negative- fear, crying, anger, disgust, contempt, sadness) and ictal defensive behaviors (freezing with a fearful facial expression, shielding the face with hands, burying the face in a pillow, or exhibiting hyperkinetic motor behaviors like attempting to escape from bed or resisting restraint) in each patient's first video EEG (vEEG).

Enhancing Neurocognitive Health via Activity, Nutrition and Cognitive Exercise (ENHANCE): A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: While multidomain interventions show promise for promoting healthy aging, their impact on brain structure remains unclear. This randomized controlled trial (ENHANCE) assessed the efficacy of a 12-month group-based multidomain intervention on brain structure and function in community-dwelling older adults, with particular attention to urban-rural disparities.

Methods: The ENHANCE trial delivered twice-weekly group-based multidomain sessions (physical exercise, cognitive training and nutrition education) in urban and rural communities for 12 months, while the control group received quarterly telephone education.

Understanding tractography in edematous brain regions: challenges and solutions.

Fiber tractography is a powerful method for visualizing the complex network of neural connections in the brain, essential for understanding white matter architecture and guiding neurosurgical procedures. However, brain edema presents significant challenges for accurate tractography due to altered diffusion patterns that can obscure critical pathways. The increased isotropic diffusion in edematous regions disrupts traditional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), limiting its ability to delineate fiber tracts reliably.

Using longitudinal data and deep learning models to enhance resource allocation in home-based medical care.

Background: The aging population is driving increased healthcare demands and costs, prompting the need for effective home healthcare programs. Accurate patient assessment is essential for optimizing resource allocation and tailoring services.

Objective: This retrospective study explores the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in predicting home medical care stages to enhance care delivery.

Human lifespan changes in the brain's functional connectome.

Functional connectivity of the human brain changes through life. Here, we assemble task-free functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging data from 33,250 individuals at 32 weeks of postmenstrual age to 80 years from 132 global sites. We report critical inflection points in the nonlinear growth curves of the global mean and variance of the connectome, peaking in the late fourth and late third decades of life, respectively.

Development of iron oxide based-upconversion nanocomposites for cancer therapeutics treatment.

Administration of therapeutic strategies alongside magnetic multifunctional nanocomposites has displayed improved cancer prognosis. However, the clinical use of this combination is limited owing to poor bioimaging performance, low biocompatibility, restricted tissue penetration in ultraviolet/visible regions, and low therapeutic efficacy of nanocomposites. To overcome these existing challenges, we designed iron oxide (FeO)-based upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs).

Brain Age Gap Associations with Body Composition and Metabolic Indices in an Asian Cohort: An MRI-Based Study.

Background: Global aging raises concerns about cognitive health, metabolic disorders, and sarcopenia. Prevention of reversible decline and diseases in middle-aged individuals is essential for promoting healthy aging. We hypothesize that changes in body composition, specifically muscle mass and visceral fat, and metabolic indices are associated with accelerated brain aging.

Automatic Segmentation of the Cisternal Segment of Trigeminal Nerve on MRI Using Deep Learning.

Accurate segmentation of the cisternal segment of the trigeminal nerve plays a critical role in identifying and treating different trigeminal nerve-related disorders, including trigeminal neuralgia (TN). However, the current manual segmentation process is prone to interobserver variability and consumes a significant amount of time. To overcome this challenge, we propose a deep learning-based approach, U-Net, that automatically segments the cisternal segment of the trigeminal nerve.

Revisiting human language and speech production network: A meta-analytic connectivity modeling study.

In recent decades, converging evidence has reached a consensus that human speech production is carried out by large-scale hierarchical network comprising both language-selective and domain-general systems. However, it remains unclear how these systems interact during speech production and the specific contributions of their component regions. By utilizing a series of meta-analytic approaches based on various language tasks, we dissociated four major systems in this study: domain-general, high-level language, motor-perception, and speech-control systems.

Shared differential factors underlying individual spontaneous neural activity abnormalities in major depressive disorder.

Background: In contemporary neuroimaging studies, it has been observed that patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) exhibit aberrant spontaneous neural activity, commonly quantified through the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF). However, the substantial individual heterogeneity among patients poses a challenge to reaching a unified conclusion.

Methods: To address this variability, our study adopts a novel framework to parse individualized ALFF abnormalities.

Differential neuropsychiatric associations of plasma biomarkers in older adults with major depression and subjective cognitive decline.

Older adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) or early cognitive decline during the subjective cognitive decline (SCD) stage may exhibit neuropsychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and subtle cognitive impairment. The clinicopathological features and biological mechanisms of MDD differ from those of SCD among older adults; these conditions thus require different treatment strategies. This study enrolled 82 participants above 50 years old with normal cognitive levels from the communities to examine biomarker-behavior correlations between MDD (n = 23) and SCD (n = 23) relative to a normal control (NC) group (n = 36).

Efficacy of Digital Dance on Brain Imagery, Cognition, and Health: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Multidomain interventions have demonstrable benefits for promoting healthy aging, but self-empowerment strategies to sustain long-term gains remain elusive.

Objective: This study evaluated the effects of digital somatosensory dance game participation on brain imagery changes as primary outcomes and other physical and mental health measures as secondary outcomes related to healthy aging.

Methods: Between August 31, 2020, and June 27, 2021, this randomized controlled trial recruited 60 eligible participants older than 55 years with no recent engagement in digital dance games.

Neuroimaging epicenters as potential sites of onset of the neuroanatomical pathology in schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia lacks a clear definition at the neuroanatomical level, capturing the sites of origin and progress of this disorder. Using a network-theory approach called epicenter mapping on cross-sectional magnetic resonance imaging from 1124 individuals with schizophrenia, we identified the most likely "source of origin" of the structural pathology. Our results suggest that the Broca's area and adjacent frontoinsular cortex may be the epicenters of neuroanatomical pathophysiology in schizophrenia.

White matter alterations and their associations with biomarkers and behavior in subjective cognitive decline individuals: a fixel-based analysis.

Background: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is an early stage of dementia linked to Alzheimer's disease pathology. White matter changes were found in SCD using diffusion tensor imaging, but there are known limitations in voxel-wise tensor-based methods. Fixel-based analysis (FBA) can help understand changes in white matter fibers and how they relate to neurodegenerative proteins and multidomain behavior data in individuals with SCD.

Exploring timescale-specific functional brain networks and their associations with aging and cognitive performance in a healthy cohort without dementia.

Introduction: Functional brain networks (FBNs) coordinate brain functions and are studied in fMRI using blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal correlations. Previous research links FBN changes to aging and cognitive decline, but various physiological factors influnce BOLD signals. Few studies have investigated the intrinsic components of the BOLD signal in different timescales using signal decomposition.

Neurovascular coupling in eye-open-eye-close task and resting state: Spectral correspondence between concurrent EEG and fMRI.

Neurovascular coupling serves as an essential neurophysiological mechanism in functional neuroimaging, which is generally presumed to be robust and invariant across different physiological states, encompassing both task engagement and resting state. Nevertheless, emerging evidence suggests that neurovascular coupling may exhibit state dependency, even in normal human participants. To investigate this premise, we analyzed the cross-frequency spectral correspondence between concurrently recorded electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, utilizing them as proxies for neurovascular coupling during the two conditions: an eye-open-eye-close (EOEC) task and a resting state.

Gold nanoparticles decorated on MOF derived CuZn hollow porous carbon nanocubes for magnetic resonance imaging guided tumor microenvironment-mediated synergistic chemodynamic and photothermal therapy.

Combining chemodynamic therapy (CDT) with photothermal therapy (PTT) has developed as a promising approach for cancer treatment, as it enhances therapeutic efficiency through redox reactions and external laser induction. In this study, we designed metal organic framework (MOF) -derived CuZn/HPCNC through a carbonization process and decorated them with gold nanoparticles (Au@CuZn/HPCNC). The resulting nanoparticles were employed as a photothermal agent and Fenton catalyst.

The aging trajectories of brain functional hierarchy and its impact on cognition across the adult lifespan.

Introduction: The hierarchical network architecture of the human brain, pivotal to cognition and behavior, can be explored via gradient analysis using restingstate functional MRI data. Although it has been employed to understand brain development and disorders, the impact of aging on this hierarchical architecture and its link to cognitive decline remains elusive.

Methods: This study utilized resting-state functional MRI data from 350 healthy adults (aged 20-85) to investigate the functional hierarchical network using connectome gradient analysis with a cross-age sliding window approach.

Altered cerebellar and caudate gray-matter volumes and structural covariance networks preceding dual cognitive and mobility impairments in older people.

Introduction: The neuroanatomical changes driving both cognitive and mobility impairments, an emerging preclinical dementia syndrome, are not fully understood. We examined gray-matter volumes (GMVs) and structural covariance networks (SCNs) abnormalities in community-based older people preceding the conversion to physio-cognitive decline syndrome (PCDS).

Methods: Voxel-wise brain GMV and established SCNs were compared between PCDS and non-PCDS converters.