Altered dynamic functional connectivity and reduced higher order information interaction in Parkinson's patients with hyposmia.

Hyposmia, a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson's disease (PD) linked to reduced odor sensitivity, is associated with brain structural and functional changes, but dynamic brain activity and altered regional information exchange remain underexplored, limiting insight into underlying brain states. We selected 15 PD patients with severe hyposmia (PD-SH), 15 PD patients with normal cognition (PD-CN), and 15 healthy controls (HC). Using functional MRI, we assessed the brain's spatiotemporal connectivity (brain-state) alterations, and the brain's capacity for higher-order information exchange (synergy and redundancy).

Probabilistic Mapping of Magnetic Resonance-Guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) Thalamotomy Targets in Essential Tremor and Tremor-Dominant Parkinson's Disease: Insights from a German Cohort.

Precise targeting in magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is critical for effective tremor control in essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease, as small deviations can reduce efficacy or cause side effects. In our cohort, sweetspots were identified at Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) coordinates x = -12.4, y = -17.

Longitudinal evolution of diffusion metrices within the Cerebello-Thalamo-cortical tract after MRgFUS thalamotomy for essential tremor.

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thalamotomy in essential tremor (ET) targets ventral intermediate nucleus hub region within cerebello-thalamo-cortical tract (CTCT). Understanding the microstructural changes in CTCT over time and their link to tremor improvement is crucial from a tremor-network perspective. We retrospectively analyzed tremor scores, lesion characteristics, and diffusion MRI-derived CTCT microstructural measures in 27 ET patient's pre-treatment (T0), at 1 month (T2), and 6 months (T3) post-MRgFUS.

Mini social cognition and emotional assessment: Diagnostic performance and neural correlates in behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia.

We aimed at validating the Mini Social Cognition and Emotional Assessment (Mini-SEA) in a German cohort of mildly impaired behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) patients and healthy controls. The Mini-SEA comprises the Facial Emotion Recognition Test (FERT) and the Faux Pas Test (FPT) measuring Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities in social norm-related real-life stories. We examined the diagnostic performance of the Mini-SEA alongside other neuropsychological assessments and investigated its structural neural correlates.

Beyond the cerebello-thalamo-cortical tract: Remote structural changes after VIM-MRgFUS in essential tremor.

Introduction: Essential tremor (ET) is a progressive disorder characterized by altered network connectivity between the cerebellum, thalamus, and cortical regions. Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) of the ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) is an effective, minimally invasive treatment for ET. The impact of MRgFUS interventions on regional Gray Matter Volume (GMV) are as yet not well understood.

Differential modulation of resting-state functional connectivity between amygdala and precuneus after acute physical exertion of varying intensity: indications for a role in affective regulation.

Introduction: Physical activity influences psychological well-being. This study aimed to determine the impact of exercise intensity on psychological well-being and alterations in emotion-related brain functional connectivity (FC).

Methods: Twenty young, healthy, trained athletes performed a low- and high-intensity interval exercise (LIIE and HIIE) as well as a control condition in a within-subject crossover design.

Inverted U-shape-like functional connectivity alterations in cognitive resting-state networks depending on exercise intensity: An fMRI study.

Acute physical activity influences cognitive performance. However, the relationship between exercise intensity, neural network activity, and cognitive performance remains poorly understood. This study examined the effects of different exercise intensities on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) and cognitive performance.

Fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations associated with μ-opioid and dopamine receptor distributions in the central nervous system after high-intensity exercise bouts.

Introduction: Dopaminergic, opiod and endocannabinoid neurotransmission are thought to play an important role in the neurobiology of acute exercise and, in particular, in mediating positive affective responses and reward processes. Recent evidence indicates that changes in fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (zfALFF) in resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) may reflect changes in specific neurotransmitter systems as tested by means of spatial correlation analyses.

Methods: Here, we investigated this relationship at different exercise intensities in twenty young healthy trained athletes performing low-intensity (LIIE), high-intensity (HIIE) interval exercises, and a control condition on three separate days.

Automatic planning of MR-guided transcranial focused ultrasound treatment for essential tremor.

Introduction: Transcranial focused ultrasound therapy (tcFUS) offers precise thermal ablation for treating Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. However, the manual fine-tuning of fiber tracking and segmentation required for accurate treatment planning is time-consuming and demands expert knowledge of complex neuroimaging tools. This raises the question of whether a fully automated pipeline is feasible or if manual intervention remains necessary.

Fronto-striatal alterations correlate with apathy severity in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia.

Structural and functional changes in cortical and subcortical regions have been reported in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), however, a multimodal approach may provide deeper insights into the neural correlates of neuropsychiatric symptoms. In this multicenter study, we measured cortical thickness (CTh) and subcortical volumes to identify structural abnormalities in 37 bvFTD patients, and 37 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. For seed regions with significant structural changes, whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) was examined in a sub-cohort of N = 22 bvFTD and N = 22 matched control subjects to detect complementary alterations in brain network organization.

MRgFUS of the nucleus ventralis intermedius in essential tremor modulates functional connectivity within the classical tremor network and beyond.

Background: Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) of the thalamic ventral intermediate nucleus is an incisionless lesional treatment for essential tremor.

Objective: To examine relationships between tremor severity and functional connectivity in patients with essential tremor and to assess long-term changes in the tremor network after sonication of the ventral intermediate nucleus.

Methods: Twenty-one patients with essential tremor (70.

Independent and additive contribution of white matter hyperintensities and Alzheimer's disease pathology to basal forebrain cholinergic system degeneration.

Objectives: Degeneration of the cholinergic basal forebrain nuclei (CBFN) system has been studied extensively in Alzheimer's disease (AD). White matter hyperintensities are a hallmark of aging as well as a common co-morbidity of AD, but their contribution to CBFN degeneration has remained unclear. Therefore, we explored the influence of white matter hyperintensities within cholinergic subcortical-cortical projection pathways on CBFN volumes and regional gray matter volumes in AD and age- and gender-matched controls.

Whole-brain network transitions within the framework of ignition and transfer entropy following VIM-MRgFUS in essential tremor patients.

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) lesioning of the ventralis intermedius nucleus (VIM) has shown promise in treating drug-refractory essential tremor (ET). It remains unknown whether focal VIM lesions by MRgFUS have broader restorative effects on information flow within the whole-brain network of ET patients. We applied an information-theoretical approach based on intrinsic ignition and the concept of transfer entropy (TE) to assess the spatiotemporal dynamics after VIM-MRgFUS.

Physical Activity Alters Functional Connectivity of Orbitofrontal Cortex Subdivisions in Healthy Young Adults: A Longitudinal fMRI Study.

Physical activity (PA) plays an important role in affect processing. Studies describe the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) as a major hub for emotion processing and the pathophysiology of affective disorders. Subregions of the OFC show diverse functional connectivity (FC) topographies, but the effect of chronic PA on subregional OFC FC still lacks scientific understanding.

Regional cortical perfusion increases induced by a 6-month endurance training in young sedentary adults.

Physical inactivity is documented as a health risk factor for chronic diseases, accelerated aging, and cognitive impairment. Physical exercise, on the other hand, plays an important role in healthy aging by promoting positive muscular, cardiovascular, and central nervous system adaptions. Prior studies on the effects of exercise training on cerebral perfusion have focused largely on elderly cohorts or patient cohorts, while perfusion effects of exercise training in young sedentary adults have not yet been fully assessed.

Coherent Structural and Functional Network Changes after Thalamic Lesions in Essential Tremor.

Background: Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound of the ventral intermediate nucleus is a novel incisionless ablative treatment for essential tremor (ET).

Objective: The aim was to study the structural and functional network changes induced by unilateral sonication of the ventral intermediate nucleus in ET.

Methods: Fifteen essential tremor patients (66.

Transcranial high-intensity Magnetic Resonance-guided focused ultrasound (tcMRgFUS) - safety and impacts on tremor severity and quality of life.

Introduction: Transcranial high-intensity Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound (tcMRgFUS) is a technique for treatment of severe, medication-refractory Essential Tremor (ET). We summarize 1-year follow-up results focusing on clinical and safety parameters and impacts on quality of life.

Methods: A total of 45 patients with severe, medication-refractory ET were treated with tcMRgFUS thalamotomy.

Effects of a 6-Month Aerobic Exercise Intervention on Mood and Amygdala Functional Plasticity in Young Untrained Subjects.

Acute exercise has beneficial effects on mood and is known to induce modulations in functional connectivity (FC) within the emotional network. However, the long-term effects of exercise on affective brain circuits remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of 6 months of regular exercise on mood, amygdala structure, and functional connectivity.

Lesions of the cerebello-thalamic tract rather than the ventral intermediate nucleus determine the outcome of focused ultrasound therapy in essential tremor: A 3T and 7T MRI-study.

Introduction: The ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (VIM) is an important relay station receiving cerebellar and pallidal fiber tracts. Data on structural visualization of the VIM however is limited and uncertainty prevails to what extent lesional approaches to treat tremor affect the VIM itself or passing tracts. The aim of the study was to analyze the localization of individual lesions with respect to the VIM and the cerebello-thalamic tract (CTT).

Resting-state functional connectivity in drug-naive pediatric patients with Tourette syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Previous studies in cohorts of Tourette syndrome (TS) or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients have not clarified whether these two disorders represent two clinical conditions or they are distinct clinical phenotypes of a common disease spectrum. The study aimed to compare functional connectivity (FC) patterns in a pediatric drug-naive cohort of 16 TS patients without any comorbidity (TS), 14 TS patients with OCD (TS + OCD), and 10 pure OCD patients as well as 11 matched controls that underwent resting state fMRI. Via independent component analysis, we examined FC in the basal ganglia (BGN), sensorimotor (SMN), cerebellum (CBN), frontoparietal (FPN), default-mode (DMN), orbitofrontal (OBFN), and salience (SAN) networks among the above cohorts and their association with clinical measures.

Interaction of Catechol-O-methyltransferase Val Met polymorphism and sex influences association of parietal intrinsic functional connectivity and immediate verbal memory.

Introduction: Sex differences modulate catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) genotype effect at a synaptic dopamine level, which influences brain function as well as cognitive performance. In this study, we investigated how COMT Val Met polymorphism and sex affect intrinsic functional connectivity and memory.

Methods: Intrinsic functional networks were extracted using independent component analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 186 healthy young COMT-genotyped participants.