Subcortical functional connectivity alterations in first-episode medication-naïve adolescents with major depressive disorder.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) demonstrates significant alterations in intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) of the subcortical networks (SCN). However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these changes in adolescents with MDD and their association with stressors and sleep disturbances remain poorly understood. Using seed-based functional connectivity analysis, we investigated changes in intrinsic connectivity of the SCN in 83 first-episode medication-naïve adolescents with MDD (aMDD) and 59 healthy controls (HC).

Intranetwork and Internetwork Functional Connectivity Changes Related to Speech Disorders in Adults With Cleft Lip and Palate.

Cleft lip and palate (CLP) may induce alterations in functional connectivity (FC) throughout the whole brain, potentially leading to speech dysfunctions; however, the precise neurobiological mechanisms involved remain unknown. This study aimed to systematically examine the consequences of neurological impairments associated with CLP on whole-brain FC and speech functionality. A total of 33 CLP individuals and 41 control participants were included in this study.

Abnormal intrinsic functional network connectivity in adolescent major depressive disorder related to severity of insomnia.

Backgrounds: Insomnia is closely associated with depression and plays a critical role in its development. Investigating insomnia-related neuroimaging changes in depression could enhance understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying depression insomnia. However, the brain network mechanism underlying the bidirectional relationship between depression and insomnia in adolescents remains unknown.

Common and sex-specific differences in hypothalamic subunit volumes and their links with depressive symptoms in treatment-naïve patients with major depressive disorder.

The hypothalamus, which consists of histologically and functionally distinct subunits, primarily modulates vegetative symptoms in major depressive disorder (MDD). Sex differences in MDD have been well-documented in terms of illness incidence rates and symptom profiles. However, few studies have explored subunit-level and sex-specific anatomic differences in the hypothalamus in MDD compared to healthy controls (HCs).

A mitochondrial outer membrane protein TOMM20 maintains protein stability of androgen receptor and regulates AR transcriptional activity in prostate cancer cells.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is an androgen-dependent malignancy, with HSP90 and HSP70 serving as classical molecular chaperones that maintain androgen receptor (AR) protein stability and regulate its transcriptional activation. Surprisingly, our study identified TOMM20, a mitochondrial outer membrane protein, as a potential molecular chaperone with similar roles to HSP90/HSP70. We found that TOMM20 expression is elevated in PCa tissues and cell lines and positively correlates with AR levels.

Dysregulated connectivity configuration of triple-network model in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is signified by altered functional network connectivity (FNC), particularly within the default mode network (DMN), salience network (SAL), and fronto-parietal network (FPN). While previous studies suggest disruptions within triple networks, dynamic causal interactions across networks remain unaddressed. This study seeks to validate previous findings of static dysconnectivity between triple networks and further delineate the time-varying interactions and causal relationships among these networks in OCD.

Shared and distinctive changes of the white matter integrity in generalized anxiety disorder with or without depressive disorder.

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a prevalent anxiety disorder often comorbid with major depressive disorder (MDD). Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that white matter (WM) microstructural alterations are critical for efficient communication between brain regions, and play an important role in the pathology of GAD. However, the exact profile of WM abnormalities in GAD with and without comorbid MDD remain unclear.

Elucidating trauma-related and disease-related regional cortical activity in post-traumatic stress disorder.

Trauma exposure may precipitate a cascade of plastic modifications within the intrinsic activity of brain regions, but it remains unclear which regions could be responsible for the development of post-traumatic stress disorder based on intrinsic activity. To elucidate trauma-related and post-traumatic stress disorder-related alterations in cortical intrinsic activity at the whole-brain level, we recruited 47 survivors diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, 64 trauma-exposed controls from a major earthquake, and 46 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. All subjects were scanned with an echo-planar imaging sequence, and 5 parameters including the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations, fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations, regional homogeneity, degree centrality, and voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity were calculated.

Functional connectivity of the default mode network in first-episode drug-naïve patients with major depressive disorder.

Background: Alterations in the default mode network (DMN) have been reported in major depressive disorder (MDD), well-replicated robust alterations of functional connectivity (FC) of DMN remain to be established. Investigating the functional connections of DMN at the overall and subsystem level in early MDD patients has the potential to advance our understanding of the physiopathology of this disorder.

Methods: We recruited 115 first-episode drug-naïve patients with MDD and 137 demographic-matched healthy controls (HCs).

Negative family and interpersonal relationship are associated with centromedial amygdala functional connectivity alterations in adolescent depression.

The amygdala, known for its functional heterogeneity, plays a critical role in the neural mechanism of adolescent major depressive disorder (aMDD). However, changes in its subregional functional networks in relation to stressful factors remain unclear. We recruited 78 comorbidity-free, medication-naive aMDD patients and 40 matched healthy controls (HC) to explore changes in resting-state functional connectivity (FC) across four amygdala subregions: the centromedial nucleus (CM), the basolateral nucleus (LB), the superficial nucleus (SF), and the amygdalostriatal transition area (Astr).

Abnormal neural activation during negative emotion processing in anxiety disorders: a coordinate-based meta-analysis.

Background: Anxiety disorders are associated with aberrant neural responses to negative emotions. Yet, the diverse range of contrasts and stimuli used to investigate these responses has produced variable, complex, and sometimes conflicting results.

Methods: To characterize brain activation during negative emotion processing in anxiety disorders, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies contrasting activation to negative stimuli perceptually similar neutral stimuli and examined the differential effects of two types of visual stimuli-scenes and faces.

Multivariate association between psychosocial environment, behaviors, and brain functional networks in adolescent depression.

Background: Adolescent depression shows high clinical heterogeneity. Brain functional networks serve as a powerful tool for investigating neural mechanisms underlying depression profiles. A key challenge is to characterize how variation in brain functional organization links to behavioral features and psychosocial environmental influences.

PLK1 maintains DNA methylation and cell viability by regulating phosphorylation-dependent UHRF1 protein stability.

PLK1 is a key serine/threonine kinase as well as a master mitotic regulator, but it has never been reported that PLK1 regulates DNA methylation. In the present study, we for the first time found that PLK1 inhibition disrupted global DNA methylation and elevated the expression level of tumor suppressor genes. Mechanistically, we found that PLK1 interacts UHRF1 protein to induce its phosphorylation at serine 265.

Prognostic significance of MALAT1 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma based on TCGA and GEO.

Long noncoding RNAs metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) can regulate tumorigenesis and progression of various cancers. However, there is little known about the tumor biology and regulatory mechanism of MALAT1 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). The objective of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value and potential functions of MALAT1 in ccRCC based on the cancer genome atlas.

AR antagonists develop drug resistance through TOMM20 autophagic degradation-promoted transformation to neuroendocrine prostate cancer.

Background: Prostate cancer(PCa) is the most commonly occurring male cancer in the USA. Abiraterone or Enzalutamide have been approved for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). However, the treatment-emergent neuroendocrine PCa (t-NEPC) may develop, resulting in drug resistance in about 10-17% CRPC patients.

Functional connectivity of the left inferior parietal lobule mediates the impact of anxiety and depression symptoms on sleep quality in healthy adults.

Individuals with anxiety and depression symptoms are vulnerable to sleep disturbances. The current study aimed to explore the shared neuro-mechanisms underlying the effect of anxiety and depression symptoms on sleep quality. We recruited a cohort of 92 healthy adults who underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning.

Suprachiasmatic nucleus functional connectivity related to insomnia symptoms in adolescents with major depressive disorder.

Background: Insomnia is a commonly seen symptom in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD). The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which is the circadian rhythm regulation center, plays a crucial role in the regulation of sleep-wake circulation. Nevertheless, how SCN function contributes to the exact neural mechanisms underlying the associations between insomnia and depressive symptoms has not been explored in adolescents.

Structural covariance network of the hippocampus-amygdala complex in medication-naïve patients with first-episode major depressive disorder.

Background: The hippocampus and amygdala are densely interconnected structures that work together in multiple affective and cognitive processes that are important to the etiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Each of these structures consists of several heterogeneous subfields. We aim to explore the topologic properties of the volume-based intrinsic network within the hippocampusamygdala complex in medication-naïve patients with first-episode MDD.

Abnormal resting-state functional connectivity of the insula in medication-free patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: The function of the insula has been increasingly mentioned in neurocircuitry models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) for its role in affective processing and regulating anxiety and its wide interactions with the classic cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit. However, the insular resting-state functional connectivity patterns in OCD remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to investigate characteristic intrinsic connectivity alterations of the insula in OCD and their associations with clinical features.

Investigation of white matter functional networks underlying different behavioral profiles in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Background: Cortical functional network alterations have been widely accepted as the neural basis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Recently, white matter has also been recognized as a novel neuroimaging marker of psychopathology and has been used as a complement to cortical functional networks to investigate brain-behavior relationships. However, disorder-specific features of white matter functional networks (WMFNs) are less well understood than those of gray matter functional networks.

Brain morphometric abnormalities and their associations with affective symptoms in males with methamphetamine use disorder during abstinence.

Background: Methamphetamine (METH) use induces neurotoxic effects in brain structures and affective symptoms that persist during abstinence. However, the brain morphometry of individuals with METH use disorder (MUD) remains unclear, as well as their associations with affective symptoms during abstinence.

Methods: Forty-eight abstinent males with MUD and 66 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging.