bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Subject-specific analysis reveals spatially heterogeneous white matter abnormalities in sports-related concussion
Authors: Yang Ho-Ching , Dzemidzic Mario , Wen Qiuting , Riggen Larry , Broglio Steven , McCrea Michael , McAllister Thomas , Harezlak Jaroslaw , Wu Yu-Chien
Published: August 2024

Sport-related concussion (SRC) injury inclines to cause subject-specific brain region abnormalities. This study applied subject-specific analysis that accounts for inter-subject variation to investigate heterogeneity of white matter alterations in a sample from a large national multicenter study, the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education Consortium. Our results demonstrated that subject-specific white matter abnormalities in SRC can be uncovered by calculating the extreme Z-score maps based on a template generated from normally distributed diffusion tensor imaging metric values in non-contact sports controls. Our finding indicates that the SRC-induced white matter abnormalities show heterogeneous spatial distribution across participants.
Assessment of tumor subregion complexity using fractal analysis in breast cancer
Authors: Xu Run , Li Guanwu , YU Dan , Dai Yongming , Liang Xinyue
Published: August 2024

This study aimed to develop multiparametric physiologic MRI-based spatial habitat analysis and to validate the association between the habitats and the molecular subtypes. The distinct tumor habitats were identified using multiple MRI-parameter maps, then applied to calculate the volume fraction and fractal dimension (FD) and to investigate their diagnosis value. The combination of FD and volume fraction improves the discriminatory ability for TNBC from non-TNBC with an AUC to 0.951 from 0.853.
MRI for tissue classification of subcutaneous colon cancer using oxygen enhanced (OE), dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI and [18F]FAZA PET
Authors: Vuozzo Marta , Zimmermann Max , Tendonge Mystele , Martirosian Petros , Kneilling Manfred , Schick Fritz , Pichler Bernd , Schmid Andreas
Published: August 2024

Solid tumors exhibit intratumoral heterogeneity, which is related to therapy efficacy. Since biopsies represent a small part of the tumor, multimodal imaging techniques provide panoptic cancer characterization. We developed an acquisition and analysis protocol based on multiparametric MRI to classify and provide a holistic characterization of intratumoral heterogeneity and correlate it with positron emission tomography and histology. We applied MRI to characterize phenotypic changes induced by antiPD-L1 therapy response. Results reveal that models trained exclusively with MRI data provide biologically relevant maps of phenotypes showing intratumoral heterogeneity, but also allow non-invasive identification of tumors that respond or resist to therapy.
Improving Low Resolution MRI Contrast for Brain-Environment Neuroepidemiology
Authors: Cakmak Jasmine , Azarpazhooh Reza , Khaw Alexander , Anazodo Udunna
Published: August 2024

Recycling large-scale clinical data to retrospectively study associations of brain imaging variables with emerging environmental risk factors is a sustainable approach in the growing field of neuroepidemiology. Here, we evaluated the utility of a deep learning tool to increase the resolution of clinical (1.5T) T1-weighted MRI by comparing global assessment of gray matter volume (GMV) and cortical thickness (CT) to 3T research scans. Overall, the resolved 1.5T images had higher (18%) GMV and CT compared to 3T and were more biased than unresolved images. Further analysis in larger cohorts using improved segmentation approaches could validate recycling of enhanced clinical scans.
Microscopic fractional anisotropy with free water elimination
Authors: Arezza Nico , Omer Mohammad , Baron Corey
Published: August 2024

Water diffusion anisotropy is a diffusion MRI metric that is sensitive to brain injury and neurodegeneration. Microscopic fractional anisotropy (μFA) is a new metric of diffusion anisotropy that is immune to crossing fiber effects, unlike traditional FA, which enables probing of axon integrity in gray matter and crossing white matter tracts. However, μFA is underestimated in voxels adjacent to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) due to partial volume contamination, which is particularly problematic in cortical gray matter and tissue adjacent to ventricles. Here, we demonstrate a free water elimination method to remove the CSF signal from μFA measurements in four healthy volunteers.
Deep learning-based image quality and spatial resolution improvement for Diffusion Weighted Imaging in liver
Authors: Kwon Jihun , Yuda Kohei , Yoneyama Masami , Katsumata Yasutomo , Cauteren Marc
Published: August 2024

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in liver plays a significant role for lesion characterization and staging of fibrosis. Single-shot echo-planar imaging (ssh-EPI) readout is typically used; however, spatial resolution of ssh-EPI-DWI is limited by acquisition time. In this study, we investigated the use of prototype AI-based reconstruction technique (SmartSpeed Precise Image) to improve the image quality of liver ssh-EPI-DWI images. The image quality was compared between conventional Compressed-SENSE (C-SENSE), SmartSpeed AI, and SmartSpeed Precise Image. Volunteer data demonstrated a significant improvement of sharpness in DWI images and ADC map, and reduction of ringing artifact compared with C-SENSE and SmartSpeed AI reconstruction.
Change in ATP flux after propionate ingestion in healthy volunteers Using 31P MRS Saturation Transfer.
Authors: Spicer Abi , Bawden Stephen , Gowland Penny , Francis Susan , Morrison Douglas , Aithal Guruprasad , Frost Gary
Published: August 2024

Propionate is a short chain fatty-acid absorbed in the colon and metabolised in the liver with some evidence showing that consumption can increase energy homeostasis. Three healthy participants have been studied to date with 31P saturation transfer experiments performed pre and 180 minutes post consumption of an inorganic-propionate ester using 1D-slice-selective-ISIS. The exchange rate constant (k) was calculated to be higher than previous studies despite similar methodologies. Whilst at this time no conclusions can be drawn about the effect of consuming Inorganic Propionate Ester thus far, this study shows the applicability of using 31P saturation transfer in simpler intervention studies.
Deep Learning Reconstruction for Abdomen Diagnosis: Improvement of Diagnostic Performance with higher Spatial or Temporal Resolution
Authors: Chen Bo-Ting , Yeh Cheng-Ya , Chen Yi-Chen , Li Chia-Wei , Shieh Charng-Chyi , Lin Chien-Yuan , Liu Kao-Lang
Published: August 2024

We have previously validated the SNR improvement of abdominal MRI by Deep Learning Reconstruction (DLRecon). In this study, we further investigate the improvement of image quality and diagnostic performance when trading the SNR with higher spatial and temporal resolution imaging setting. In the result, the clinical scoring of images with high-speed or high-resolution settings in DLRecon was superior to that of the images with conventional setting and reconstruction.
Optimal flip angle and delay time of Gd-BOPTA-enhanced MRI in the normal liver and biliary imaging
Authors: Ren Xue , Zhao Ying , Song Qingwei , Hu Geli , Wang Jiazheng , Liu Ailian
Published: August 2024

Gadobenate dimeglumine (Gd-BOPTA) is a novel contrast agent for hepatobiliary specific magnetic resonance imaging. At present, there is no exact and recognized turning Angle and delay time for Gd-BOPTA enhanced MRI scanning, and no relevant research reports have been reported at home and abroad. This study intends to analyze the image quality of the liver and biliary system in the hepatobiliary stage of Gd-BOPTA enhanced MRI by using the combination of different rotation angles and delay time.
Comparison of pH-weighted and conventional MRI signal in ischemic stroke
Authors: Jin Tao , Wang Jicheng , Hitchens T. Kevin , Sun Dandan , Bandos Andriy , Mettenburg Joseph , Wang Ping , Chung Julius
Published: August 2024

The sensitivity of APT MRI in the evaluation of ischemic tissue status was evaluated in stroke rat brains and compared with conventional MRI methods. APT can detect the different levels of tissue acidosis in the ischemic core, penumbra, and oligemia regions. Additionally, APT can also differentiate the severity of tissue acidosis associated with different blood glycemic levels. Our results indicate that APT MRI is a sensitive pH-weighted imaging marker with great potential for the evaluation of the ischemic tissue status and prediction of the stroke outcome.
Metabolite detection in plants: A new application field for CEST?
Authors: Mayer Simon , Gutjahr Fabian , Borisjuk Ljudmilla , Jakob Peter
Published: August 2024

Chemical shift imaging (CSI) is rather challenging for the in vivo detection of low concentrated metabolites in plants due to its intrinsic low detection sensitivity and the need for accurate water suppression in the presence of magnetically inhomogeneous plant structures. As an alternative solution, we propose Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) for spectroscopic imaging. Within the work, several plant models were identified where CEST can be used as a versatile alternative for the detection of sugar and amino acids with increased spatial resolution and sensitivity, which demonstrates that CEST has a high potential for plant examinations.
Using a deep residual learning framework to enhance APT-weighted (APTw) MR images of brain tumors acquired by SENSE with compressed sensing
Authors: Wu Jingpu , Shen Yiqing , Guo Pengfei , Huang Qianqi , Moghadas Babak , Heo Hye-Young , Zhou Jinyuan , Jiang Shanshan
Published: August 2024

Sensitivity encoding (SENSE) is often adopted to accelerate image acquisition for various MRI sequences, including APTw. This is further accelerated with SENSE with compressed sensing (called CS-SENSE), but the image quality degrades to some extent. We collected both SENSE- and CS-SENSE-APTw images and trained a generative model with residual learning to generate SENSE images from CS-SENSE images. The generated results were proved to be highly similar to SENSE-APTw images and less noisy than both SENSE- and CS-SENSE-APTw images. With a larger dataset, we can train more robust models and eventually replace SENSE- with CS-SENSE for a speedup of ~50%.
Intracranial Hemorrhage Patient CSF Susceptibility Variation: Implications for Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping Reference Selection.
Authors: Wang Shutao , Spincemaille Pascal , Selim Magdy , Thomas Ajith , Filippidis Aristotelis , Wen Yan , Wang Yi , Soman Salil
Published: August 2024

QSM is an emerging MR technique with many clinical applications, especially in the brain. CSF has been used by many researchers as the reference region to obtain quantitative QSM values for inter-subject comparison. Here, we demonstrate the QSM values at hemorrhagic CSF sites are significantly different from that at non-hemorrhagic CSF sites in the same patient with various types of intracranial hemorrhage. This finding has significant clinical implication as selection of CSF as the reference region should be made with caution in patients with intracranial hemorrhage.
A Correlation Study Between Brain Sub-Region Volumes and the Severity of Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Mo Zhanhao , Liu Lin , Zhang Lei , Tang Runyu , Zhang Yunfei , Dai Yongming , Sui He
Published: August 2024

By applying a deep-learning based brain segmentation algorithm on T1-weighted images, the brain was segmented into 106 sub-regions and regional volumes were determined automatically. We analyzed the relationship of brain regional volumes and the severity of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and compared regional volumes in a cohort of patients with mild and moderate PD. Our data demonstrated that regional volumes of certain brain structures had the potential ability in the characterization of PD.
Exploring the effects of tissue iron in neuromelanin MRI
Authors: Kim Minjun , Ji Sooyeon , Yoon Joonhyeok , Jeong Hwihun , An Hongjun , Kim Jiye , Youn Jonghyo , Kang Junghwa , Kim Eung Yeop , Nam Yoonho , Lee Jongho
Published: August 2024

Neuromelanin MRI signal decreases in IPD patients in the substantia nigra. In this study, we investigated that the decrease is caused by not only the reduction of neuromelanin but also iron deposition. Neuromelanin reduction in IPD patients was shown by the result of the substantia nigra volume decrease. The comparison result of contrast ratio, calculated between substantia nigra and crus cerebri, of IPD patients versus healthy controls demonstrated that iron deposition also decreases the signal of NM-MRI. T2*, susceptibility, and overlapped area between substantia nigra from neuromelanin MRI and hypo-intense area from SMWI also represented the tendency of iron deposition.
A preliminary study of radiological characteristics of diffuse hemispheric gliomas, H3 G34-mutant
Authors: Yu Yang , Ren Yan , Yue Qi , Yao Zhenwei
Published: August 2024

Diffuse hemispheric glioma, H3 G34-mutant (H3G34-DHG) is a rare newly proposed entity in 2021 WHO classification of central nervous system tumors. We retrospectively analysis characteristics of 10 cases of H3G34-DHG and found some certain characteristics in clinical and radiological manifestations in this entity. In most cases, absent or focally faint contrast enhancement initially suggested another diagnosis than a high-grade glioma. However, increased tumor vessels still suggested abundant tumor blood supply. Moreover, hyperintensity on CT and restricted diffusion reflected high density of tumor cells. MRS also showed extremely high metabolism active in the tumor.
Discussion the WHO grading of brain invasion otherwise benign meningiomas (BIOB) from the MR images perspective of 675 meningiomas
Authors: XIAO LUO , HONG JIANG , XIAJING LIU , FAN LIN , KAN DENG , JUN JIANG , ZHU ZHANG , YULI WANG , JUAN YU
Published: August 2024

Should the BIOB meningiomas be classified as WHO grade 1 or WHO grade 2 atypical meningiomas, the core issue that scholars have questioned about the guidelines from an imaging perspective. In this study, we used BIOB as the entry point to comprehensively compare and analyze the MRI imaging characteristics of BIOB between WHO grade 1 and 2 meningiomas. Comparative analysis of multiple groups of MRI characteristics showed that BIOB and WHO grade 2 meningiomas were more similar in clinical and imaging features than grade 1 meningiomas. Therefore, it is reasonable to classify BIOB as WHO grade 2 meningiomas in the guidelines.
Investigating the computational reproducibility of Neurodesk
Authors: Dao Thuy , Renton Angela , Narayanan Aswin , Barth Markus , Bollmann Steffen
Published: August 2024

Glatard et al [1] found that the operating system version affected the computational results of neuroimaging analysis pipelines. Their work demonstrated that this reproducibility issue is caused by the accumulated floating-point differences across operating systems. Neurodesk (www.neurodesk.org) approaches this problem by packaging every pipeline into a software container and thereby can control the underlying dependencies for each application regardless of the operating system. In this work, a brain tissue segmentation pipeline from the FMRIB Software Library (FSL) was compared with a containerised version from Neurodesk. The comparison revealed that Neurodesk provides computational reproducibility compared with local installations.
ComBat scanner harmonization for fixel-based analysis
Authors: Mito Remika , Pardoe Heath , Smith Robert , Tournier Jacques-Donald , Vaughan David , Pedersen Mangor , Jackson Graeme
Published: August 2024

Diffusion MRI data are known to be sensitive to scanner and site effects, for which harmonization methods have been developed. However, harmonization methods have not yet been applied to many advanced diffusion imaging metrics. In this work, we apply the ComBat harmonization approach to fixel-based analysis. ComBat successfully minimizes scanner-related differences in fibre density and cross-section, and performs similarly to the inclusion of scanner as a nuisance regressor during whole-brain fixel-based analysis. Importantly, ComBat can now readily be used within the fixel-based framework, which will enable large multi-centre studies to implement this approach in the future.
Automated brain QSM computation pipeline deployed in the European Open Science Cloud
Authors: Guevara Miguel , Cam Davy , Badagbon Jacques , Roche Stephane , Bottlaender Michel , Cointepas Yann , Mangin Jean-François , de Rochefort Ludovic , Vignaud Alexandre
Published: August 2024

Introduction of a pipeline for computing the Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) from non-optimal MRI data in a secure cloud-infrastructure. The pipeline allows the computation of clean and exploitable QSM, thanks to a phase pre-processing to reduce the presence of artifacts in the 7T MRI data.
Amide proton transfer weighted and diffusion kurtosis imaging in evaluating lymphovascular space invasion of endometrial carcinoma
Authors: Zongyuan Xie , Shifeng Tian , Ailian Liu
Published: August 2024

Lymphovascular space invasion(LVSI)is one of the important factors for poor prognosis of endometrial carcinoma(EC). Quantitative parameters of amide proton transfer weighted(APTw)and diffusion kurtosis imaging(DKI) is a novel MRI tool to evaluating LVSI in EC. The APT and MK values of EC with LVSI were higher than those without LVSI. The AUC after combination was higher than that of MK alone. Both APTw and DKI can effectively evaluate EC LVSI. APTw combined DKI application can improve the evaluation efficiency .
Feasibility of synthetic diffusion weighted images using computed with 5b protocol in uterine tumors
Authors: Tang Qian , Liu Weiyin , Zhou Qiqi , Chen Wen , Sang Ling , Xu Lin
Published: August 2024

High-b-value DWI has been widely applied in clinical practices, but it is challenging to acquire several high b-value images for long acquisition time and more eddy distortion as b-value increases, leading to patient discomfort, increased motion artifacts and decreased SNR. High-b-value SyDWIs showed better SNR and less image distortion than scanned high-b-value DWIs. Our study demonstrate the feasibility of 5b-value synthetic high-b-value reduced full-of-view diffusion weighted imaging with the pros of short scan time, better lesion clarity and higher image quality in comparison of 13b-protocol rFOV-syDWIs and 5b-protocol synthetic ADCmean and ADCminimum offered reliably diagnostic value compared to 13b-protocol ones.
The value of amide proton transfer and glucose-chemical exchange saturation transfer in predicting tumor grading and staging in cervical cancer
Authors: Jiang Han , Meng Nan , Li Ziqiang , Dai Bo , Feng Pengyang , Luo Yu , Shen Zhiwei , Wang* Meiyun
Published: August 2024

What are the values of three-dimensional amide proton transfer (APT) imaging and glucose-chemical exchange saturation transfer (glucoCEST) in WHO grading and staging of cervical cancer? We performed 3D-APT, 3D-glucoCEST, and DWI scans in 19 cervical cancer cases. APT signal intensity(SI), and GlucoCEST SI could distinguish high-grade from low-grade; GlucoCEST SI can differentiate early (<IIB) from advanced (≥IIB) cervical cancer. Both APT and glucoCEST can be used for the preliminary evaluation of cervical cancer, but glucose CEST has advantages in the evaluation of cervical cancer grading and staging.
An optimal multiple b-value scheme for applications in female cervical cancer
Authors: Tang Qian , Liu Weiyin , Zhou Qiqi , Chen Wen , Sang Ling , Xu Lin
Published: August 2024

Incoherent motion in voxel (IVIM) imaging is widely utilized in grading tumor, cancer, treatment efficacy and prognosis. It is believed utility of at least 8 b-values image sets brings a more stable and accurate results. However, long acquisition time hamper clinical applications. High consistent diagnostic performance of manual ROI-based IVIM-derived measurements including ADC, D, D* and f on distinguishing patients with cervical cancer from healthy controls was found between 5b-value and 13b-value IVIM imaging protocol and no significant difference of all four values was found. We proposed a IVIM diffusion weighted imaging with a 5b-value protocol in cervical cancer.
Multicenter consistency of quantitative MRI in cervical cancer
Authors: van Houdt Petra , Bregman Abel , Tanderup Kari , Hudej Robert , Zaletelj Marko , Šegedin Barbara , Schaake Eva , Kerkhof Ellen , Velema Laura , Nout Remi , van der Heide Uulke
Published: August 2024

The reproducibility of quantitative MRI parameters in a multicenter setting is not trivial. In this study we evaluated the in-vivo multicenter consistency of quantitative MRI parameters in cervical cancer patients. DWI, T2 mapping and T1 mapping were available from 66 patients from 3 institutes. ADC values were measured consistently across institutes despite differences in acquisition protocols. For T2 and T1 values differences between institutes were observed, which need to be accounted in future evaluation of the quantitative MRI parameters in relation to treatment outcome.
Feasibility of Mapping Intracellular NAD Content in Entire Human Brain at 7T
Authors: Zhu Xiao-Hong , Guo Rong , Wiesner Hannes , Li Yudu , Zhao Yibo , Jin Wen , Liang Zhi-Pei , Chen Wei
Published: August 2024

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is an important molecule critical for cellular metabolism and signaling. The cerebral NAD concentration is only at submillimolar level, and thus, difficult to measure and imaging in vivo. In this study, we utilize 3D 31P MRSI-based NAD assay in combination with a SPICE-based signal processing method to evaluate the feasibility for non-invasively mapping the NAD contents in healthy human brains at 7T. The results suggest that by taking advantage of ultrahigh field scanner and advanced post-processing, it is possible to obtain whole-brain NAD maps with NAD measurements consistent with the literature reported values.
Fast 3D-P31-MRSI Using Custom Rosette Petal Trajectory at 3T with 4x Accelerated Compressed Sensing
Authors: Farley Nicholas , Bozymski Brian , Dydak Ulrike , Emir Uzay
Published: August 2024

To develop a reasonably fast P-31 3D MRSI sequence utilizing Rosette-Petal trajectories in K-space and compressed sensing reconstruction to acquire 1 mL voxel resolution maps in under 10 minutes with a magnetic field strength of only 3 Tesla
Disruptions in regional homogeneity and functional connectivity relate to subacute ischemic stroke
Authors: Li Xin , Qin Yue , Qiao Yanqiang , Qian Yifan , Li Xiaoshi , Wang Lei
Published: August 2024

The primary aim of the research was to compare the impact of subacute ischemic stroke on brain activity using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. In this study, we applied ReHo and FC to investigate the characteristics of brain functional activity in subacute ischemic stroke patients. Our results showed that the subacute ischemic stroke patients showed increased ReHo values in the left postcentral gyrus and significantly decreased FC between the Cerebellum-SUIT_7 and the right caudate, which is beneficial to understand the neurophysiological mechanisms of subacute ischemic stroke.
Sex dimorphism in early Alzheimer’s pathology: Brain connectivity and Behavior in AppNL-F/MAPT double knock-in mice
Authors: Ben Abdallah Inès , Sourty Marion , Mondino Mary , Degiorgis Laetitia , Lamy Julien , Noblet Vincent , Rame Marion , Pistono Cristiana , Isik Aminé , Marinutti Marie-Dominique , Héraud Céline , Sasaguri Hiroki , Hashimoto Shoko , Saito Takashi , Saido Takaomi , Mathis Chantal , Harsan Laura
Published: August 2024

MRI is a unique tool to study the complexity of functional and structural communication in the brain. To explore the brain architecture of a mouse model of Alzheimer's Disease and highlight sex-dimorphism in the emergence of AD-like signs, we used a recent mouse model, the APPNL-F/MAPT double knock-in (dKI). In preclinical imaging, we used resting-state graph theory approaches in a longitudinal study associated with behavioral evaluation. Functional connectivity of perirhinal, dorsal-hippocampus and midbrain nodes were implicated in early memory impairments in dKI female mice. Interestingly, perirhinal-cortex and dorsal-hippocampus are key regions for object-place associative memory and long-term object-recognition.
MRI measured Neuroanatomic volume, Cortical Thinning and WMH load with Aging: The Early, Intermediate and Late events of Cognitive status
Authors: Yadav Neha , Majumdar Arkaprava , Tiwari Vivek
Published: August 2024

The key to understanding brain-biomarkers depictive of normal cognition and cognitive impairment due to MCI (CI) and/or Alzheimer’s disease (CI-AD) is to identify the series of early, intermediate, and late events that encode brain health. The temporal and spatial order of events of brain health changes observed on MRI, associated with normal aging needs to be precisely delineated from the events associated with cognitive impairment. We have identified early, intermediate and late brain structural and microvascular events distinctive of CN, CI and CI-AD and developed an AI-based platform using an optimal number of MRI features distinctive of cognitive status.
Hippocampal subfield volume in relation to cerebrospinal fluid Amyloidß and cognitive assessments in early Alzheimer’s disease: a 7T MRI study
Authors: Adeyemi Oluwatobi , Mougin Olivier , Hutchinson George , Gowland Penny , Bowtell Richard , Hosseini Akram
Published: August 2024

Providing a non-invasive biomarker for the diagnosis of AD has been challenging. In this study 25 participants (12 AD and 13 healthy controls) were scanned on a 7T MRI scanner. Cognitive assessments and analysis of the CSF for Amyloidb1-42 performed by trained Clinicians. The volume of the hippocampal subregion shows a linear relationship CSF- Amyloidb1-42 for all the subfield of the hippocampus, but this trend was only significant for the ERC with p=0.023. The association of the volume of ERC and CSF-amyloid-beta(1-42) suggests the potential for using high field-high resolution MRI as a biomarker for an early identification of AD.
Brain NAA Reduction is Associated with Glucose Hypometabolism in Functional Networks of Alzheimer’s Disease: A Hybrid 3D-MRSI/FDG-PET Study
Authors: Li Wenli , Zhang Miao , Zhao Yibo , Li Yudu , Jin Wen , Hu Jialin , Zhang Yaoyu , Wang Danni , Li Biao , Liu Jun , Li Binyin , Liang Zhi-Pei , Li Yao
Published: August 2024

Functional network failure has been implicated in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). FDG-PET is a well-established tool to map the glucose hypometabolism during AD progression. MRSI indexes the neuronal loss/astrogliosis noninvasively, but has been limited to single-voxel/slice techniques. Using a high-resolution 3D MRSI technique, we evaluated the neurometabolic changes in brain networks and compared them with glucose hypometabolism. Decreases in NAA and increases in mI were found in all networks. NAA reduction followed similar patterns to the hypometabolism over cognitive decline. Combined 3D MRSI and atrophy biomarkers showed comparable performance to FDG-PET in predicting cognitive decline in AD patients.
­Neuropathology and neurometabolites in mild cognitive impairment investigated with 11C-PiB amyloid PET and 7T MRS
Authors: Davies-Jenkins Christopher , Hupfeld Kathleen , Zöllner Helge , Smith Gwenn , Oeltzschner Georg
Published: August 2024

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s disease, is increasingly studied by multi-modal beta-amyloid (Aβ) PET and MRS. Most studies have targeted the PCC and a limited number of metabolites. In this study, we analyzed Aβ PET and 7T 1H-MRS data from the ACC and PCC of MCI patients and healthy controls, using a voxel-specific Aβ metric. Metabolite-amyloid correlations were investigated using multiple regression analysis. We report a novel finding of a differential GABA-amyloid relationship for MCI patients compared with controls in the ACC and support previous reports of amyloid relationships with NAA and myo-inositol.
Functional Connectivity between Right Rolandic Operculum and Default Mode Network Is Associated with Chronic Low Back Pain-Related Disability
Authors: Chen Chang-Min , Wang Shwu-Fen , Lai Dar-Ming , Wu Wen-Chau
Published: August 2024

This study aimed to explore the relationship between emotion and pain-related disability in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) by using resting-state functional connectivity (FC). Our results showed that as compared with the control group (n = 26), the patient group (n = 26) had decreased FC with the default mode network in multiple brain regions. Specifically, the right Rolandic operculum was identified, where FC was inversely correlated with the Oswestry disability index (r = -0.616, p < 0.001), suggesting the interplay between emotion processing and pain perception.
Cognitive Brain Networks in Adult Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Analyses of Functional Connectivity with a Higher Criticism Approach
Authors: Sundermann Benedikt , Feldmann Reinhold , Mathys Christian , Rau Johanna , Garde Stefan , Braje Anna , Weglage Josef , Pfleiderer Bettina
Published: August 2024

Functional connectivity (FC) between and within a majority of cognition-related brain networks is altered in young adults with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Findings in a network-level analysis of resting-state fMRI data with a Higher Criticism approach were most obvious within a dorsal attention subnetwork and to a lesser extent in a salience / ventral attention subnetwork. When analyzing these effects further by looking at single connections, no individual FC alteration was statistically significant when adjusting for multiple comparisons. The finding of a wide distribution of FC alterations across networks might help resolve partially contradictory results in previous studies.
Altered network pattern of cortical microarchitecture in major depressive disorder
Authors: Xu Ziyun , Hou Gangqiang , Zhang Yingli , Peng Bo , Qian Long , Lai wentao
Published: August 2024

Although major depressive disorder (MDD) has been deeply studied in decades, there are still no reliable biological markers. Here, we combine the T1-wighted, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and inhomogeneous magnetization transfer imaging (IhMT) to detect cortical morphometric changes in individuals with MDD. Morphometric similarity network (MSN) was established for each subject. Network properties and rich-club organizations were assessed and analyzed between groups. MDD showed significant alteration in global and nodal properties, as well as reorganization of rich clubs. Consequently, topological structure of the morphometric similarity network is disrupted, which may be a potential biomarker for major depressive disorder.
Brain activity alterations in premature ejaculation patients before and after treatment with sertraline
Authors: Liu Shaowei , Chen Jianhuai , Dou Weiqiang
Published: August 2024

This study aimed to explore the central neural mechanisms underlying sertraline in the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) of PE patients before and after treatment with sertraline were acquired. The brain regions with altered regional homogeneity (ReHo) values were found. Increased activity in the occipital lobe and decreased activity in the prefrontal and parietal lobe and thalamus might be the mechanisms of sertraline in the treatment of PE.
Altered Brain Activity and Functional Connectivity in transition from recent-onset to chronic tinnitus, a rs-fMRI study
Authors: Han Shuting , Wu Peng , Li Yonggang
Published: August 2024

As a common disorder, the development of tinnitus deserves the attention of neuroscientists. The present study combined fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and functional connectivity to explore brain functional abnormalities in transition from recent-onset to chronic tinnitus. Abnormal intraregional neural activity and functional connectivity were observed in the left middle frontal gyrus and left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus during the development of chronic tinnitus, and these regions are major components of attention network and executive control network. These findings provide us with a better understanding of the aberrant brain changes and neuropathophysiological mechanisms of the progression of tinnitus.
Mapping the individual human cortex using multidimensional MRI and unsupervised learning
Authors: Kundu Shinjini , Barsoum Stephanie , Ariza Jeanelle , Nolan Amber , Keene C. Dirk , Basser Peter , Benjamini Dan
Published: August 2024

Histology-based cellular composition and tissue architecture provide the biological basis for the brain’s cytoarchitectonic areas and for characterizing neuropathology. Noninvasive methods to assess cortical cyto- and myeloarchitectonic features are therefore urgently needed. In an ex vivo human brain study, we used multidimensional diffusion-relaxation MRI to investigate changes in spectral signatures with cortical depth. We designed an unsupervised segmentation procedure that captures this information and provides cortical laminar maps, which were co-registered to histological images and compared. The ability to map cortical cytoarchitectonic features noninvasively makes multidimensional MRI a promising tool for studying whole-brain cortical organization.
Investigation of cerebrovascular reactivity of multiple sclerosis patients using multi-modal EEG-fMRI study in hypercapnia condition
Authors: Shin Wanyong , Krishnan Balu , Nemani Ajay , Ontaneda Daniel , Lowe Mark
Published: August 2024

We investigated the change of EEG power, BOLD and CBF contrast during visual stimulation in multiple sclerosis patients and healthy controls. The result shows that cerebrovascular reactivity is disrupted in MS patients compared to controls.
Deep learning assisted quantification of myocardial oxygen extraction fraction
Authors: Li Ran , Eldeniz Cihat , Schindler Thomas , Peterson Linda , Woodard Pamela , Zheng Jie
Published: August 2024

A previously developed MRI method for quantitative myocardial oxygen extraction mapping showed promising results, but image quality suffered from distortion and inhomogeneity artifacts. A new deep learning-based approach was developed and tested in healthy subjects. This preliminary study showed excellent reproducibility and consistent myocardial oxygen extraction values with other reported data using positron emission tomography methods.
Signal gain by reduction of the concomitant phase in double diffusion encoding by means of added oscillating gradients
Authors: Rauch Julian , Laun Frederik , Ludwig Dominik , Zaitsev Maxim , Ladd Mark , Bachert Peter , Kuder Tristan
Published: August 2024

Intravoxel dephasing generated by Maxwell or concomitant fields can cause image artifacts like signal voids or falsify the quantification. In this study, an optimization scheme to reduce concomitant field effects in diffusion sequences with single pairs of bipolar gradients on each axis is presented. Oscillating gradients are added onto the original gradient pulses with the aim of reducing the concomitant phase without significant changes in the sequence properties. The proposed method is evaluated in both measurements and simulations, and gives rise to a positive effect on the signal for arbitrary diffusion wave vector pairs.
Denoising of 7T MP2RAGE MRI with Preserving the Brain Signal
Authors: Jung Kwan-Jin
Published: August 2024

MP2RAGE requires denoising of the synthesized T1-weighted image. The conventional denoising method is to add a constant in the synthesis that alters the brain signal. This affects brain segmentation. A new denoising method has been developed to denoise it with preserving the brain signal. The new method estimates the bias field from two inversion images and sets the noise floors at the low and high noise levels in proportion to the bias field. The denoise weight is calculated at each voxel using the two noise floors. The proposed denoising method worked reliably with preserving the brain signal.
Effect of chemical shift displacement on Lipid Composition determination in localized 1H NMR Spectroscopy
Authors: Mevenkamp Julian , Buitinga Mijke , Veeraiah Pandichelvam , Schrauwen-Hinderling Vera
Published: August 2024

We showed that implementing prior knowledge about Chemical Shift Displacement Artifacts (CSDA) in localized MR-spectroscopy improves fit quality in the context of hepatic lipid composition measurements (LICO) performed with PRESS. Residuals of fitting PRESS spectra of peanut oil with CSDA prior knowledge show smaller residuals compared to assuming a purely Spin Echo based J-coupling evolution during the echo time. Furthermore, peanut oil LICO measured by PRESS and fitted with CSDA prior knowledge almost matched reference values determined by HR-NMR (PUFAHR-NMR = 23.5%, MUFAHR-NMR = 52.9%, SFAHR-NMR = 23.6% vs. PUFACSDA = 21.57%, MUFACSDA = 54.4%, SFACSDA = 24.0%).
Large-scale simulation of rigid head motion artifacts in whole brain MRI data and the impact on automatic cortical segmentation
Authors: Olsson Hampus , Millward Jason , Starke Ludger , Klein Tobias , Xu Wenli , Klix Sabrina , Lippert Christoph , Niendorf Thoralf , Waiczies Sonia
Published: August 2024

MRI datasets from epidemiological studies such as the German National Cohort (GNC) are increasingly used in machine learning. These datasets show a lower prevalence of motion artifacts than encountered in clinical practice. We simulated realistic motion artifacts caused by rigid head motion on the GNC MR data (50 subjects) by modifying the TorchIO data augmentation framework. Five levels of artifact severity were simulated. We benchmarked our results to empirical measurements using the standard GNC MPRAGE imaging protocol. The robustness to motion of FreeSurfer and SynthSeg for cortical segmentation was investigated, indicating an improved performance using SynthSeg.
GDCNet: deep learning model for self-consistent geometric distortion correction of EPI images without a field map
Authors: Jimeno Marina Manso , Vaughan John Thomas , Geethanath Sairam
Published: August 2024

GDCNet is a “self-consistent” deep learning (DL) model for distortion correction of EPI fMRI images and field map estimation. It only requires the EPI images for correction, saving acquisition time and avoiding motion-related correction errors. The two supervised U-Nets for forward modelling and distortion correction have been tested in silico and in vivo on a publicly-available and a prospectively-acquired dataset. The in silico models demonstrated generalization capabilities and achieved a mean RMSE of 2.56 x10-2 as self-conistency metric. Inference in vivo showed modest correction in the prefrontal cortex and similar estimated field map compared to the acquired ground truth.
Optimal control RF pulses for dual-angle T1 measurements in 31P magnetization transfer spectroscopy
Authors: Diwoky Clemens , Graf Christina , Rund Armin , Stollberger Rudolf
Published: August 2024

Herein, we show for the first time the application of optimal control (OC) to the design of RF pulses for dual-angle T1 measurements as needed for 31P magnetization transfer spectroscopy. Phantom measurements highlight that OC RF pulses are able to produce precise T1 maps within the relevant coil's sensitivity range. The resulting enlarged spin ensemble leads to high SNR and excellent T1 prediction if used in non-selective spectroscopic application. In addition, OC pulses were optimized for operation at a large bandwidth suitable for 31P spectroscopy (± 15 ppm), which is often a problem when adiabatic BIR-4 pulses are used.
Comparison of diffusion-weighted imaging ADC metrics for early prediction of neoadjuvant treatment response in HER2-negative breast cancer
Authors: Zimmermann Judith , Carmona-Bozo Julia , Le Nu , Onishi Natsuko , Wilmes Lisa , Gibbs Jessica , Liang Jiachao , Newitt David , Partridge Savannah , Bolan Patrick , Kornak John , Price Elissa , Joe Bonnie , LeStage Barbara ,   I-SPY 2 Investigator Network,   I-SPY 2 Imaging Working Group, Li Wen , Hylton Nola
Published: August 2024

In breast imaging, diffusion-based (DW) MRI delivers complementary quantitative value to conventional dynamic contrast enhanced MRI. ADC maps of tumor tissue calculated from DW-MRI, specifically mean ADC of the tumor region of interest, have shown promise for measuring early response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). However, depending on intra-tumoral heterogeneity, other histogram-based ADC metrics may provide even better predictive performance than mean ADC, but are yet to be studied thoroughly. Here, we investigated nine ADC-based metrics regarding their predictive performance for NAC treatment response.
BPAS-MRI combined with MRA to identify intracranial vertebrobasilar lesions
Authors: Guo Xiaohan , Wang Pingping , Mu Gengming , Jia Tianju , Zhu Kaiguo , Ai Kai , Chen Baoying
Published: August 2024

Basi-parallel anatomic scanning magnetic resonance imaging (BPAS-MRI) is an MRI technique that can reveal the outer contour of the vertebrobasilar artery, even in the presence of occlusion. A total of 53 patients with 106 segments of blood vessels were scanned by BPAS+MRA, and the results were verified by comparing with VW-MRI. It was found that BPAS+MRA could significantly improve the detection rate of vertebrobasilar lesions, which was of great value for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of arterial dysplasia, arteriosclerosis and arterial occlusion, and could improve the diagnostic confidence of radiologists.
SuperQ: 3D Super-Resolution of Quantitative Susceptibility Maps
Authors: Roberts Alexandra , Wang Yi , Spincemaille Pascal , Nguyen Thanh
Published: August 2024

3D super-resolution of QSM is feasible using the VDSR and U-net architectures using a fraction of the required number of epochs as previous 2D super-resolution networks. Additionally, this method both reduces whole brain MSE and ROI MSE and increases the apparent resolution as compared to the interpolated input
Reorganization of Functional Connectivity between White and Grey Matters during Normal Aging
Authors: Gao Yurui , Zhao Yu , Li Muwei , Lawless Dylan , Schilling Kurt , Xu Lyuan , Shafer Andrea , Beason-Held Lori , Resnick Susan , Rogers Baxter , Ding Zhaohua , Anderson Adam , Landman Bennett , Gore John
Published: August 2024

Resting state BOLD signals in white matter (WM) bundles have been found to be partially synchronized with signals in gray matter (GM) volumes, suggesting WM-GM functional connectivity (FC). However, little is known about whether or how these relationships change during normal aging, and traditional graph models are inappropriate. We introduced a novel graph model and applied it to assess WM-GM network properties in 1,462 healthy subjects (22–96years) and their age effects. Results show heterogenous alterations in WM-GM rsFC over adulthood with decreases mainly during late adulthood. Our results demonstrate there is substantial reorganization of WM-GM correlations during normal aging.
Effect of acute severe hypoxic environment on brain network connectivity
Authors: Kang Daehun , Uchida Koji , Haider Clifton , Gray Erin , In Myung-Ho , Trzasko Joshua , Campeau Norbert , Welker Kirk , Gunter Jeffrey , Shu Yunhong , Bernstein Matt , Trenerry Max , Holmes David III , Joyner Michael , Curry Timothy , Huston John III
Published: August 2024

Acute exposure to a severely low oxygen environment (<10%) can cause temporary deterioration of cognitive performance. To better understand the mechanism of the hypoxic-related temporary cognitive impairment in the human brain, we examined functional connectivity changes in brain networks during acute severe hypoxia while subjects performed a cognitive task. The acute severe hypoxic environment temporarily increases functional connectivity among salience (SN), default mode (DMN), executive central (ECN), sensorimotor, and visuospatial networks. We observed that increased connectivity of SN to DMN and to ECN during acute severe hypoxia is related with the behavioral cognitive deterioration.
Preliminary evaluation of brain neural networks following chemogenetically-induced activation of the motor cortex in rats
Authors: Mathiasen Mathias , Gude Sascha , Lundell Henrik , Siebner Hartwig , Just Nathalie
Published: August 2024

Genetic and viral tools coupled with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques provide unique opportunities to investigate the functional neural networks in the rodent brain. Chemogenetic tools can be used to selectively activate or inhibit specific neural populations and their projections, and in combination with fMRI, can reveal the underlying mechanisms of brain activity. We present early resting-state and pharmacological fMRI results regarding CNO-mediated activation of the hM3Dq DREADD in the motor cortex of rats.
Detecting micro- and macro-structural deviations in individuals with cognitive impairment
Authors: Schilling Kurt , Rheault Francois , Shastin Dmitri , Cai Leon , Shafer Andrea , Resnick Susan , Landman Bennett , Chamberland Maxime
Published: August 2024

Medical imaging is a promising tool in detecting altered brain tissue states related to cognitive impairment and dementia, however, clinical heterogeneity challenges interpretation of these changes. Recent work in normative modeling has paved the way for not only group-based comparisons of control/cohorts, but detection of deviations in individual subjects. Here, we apply this framework to detect anomalies in individuals with cognitive impairment by assessing the classification power of microstructural and macrostructural features of different tissue types, and also attributing anomalies to specific features of brain tissue.
White matter hyperintensity shape in relation to long-term small vessel disease progression in community-dwelling older adults
Authors: Keller Jasmin , Sigurdsson Sigurdur , van Buchem Mark , Launer Lenore , van Osch Matthias , Gudnason Vilmundur , de Bresser Jeroen
Published: August 2024

White matter hyperintensity (WMH) shape was recently introduced as a novel small vessel disease (SVD) marker that may provide a more detailed characterization of WMH than volume alone. We aimed to investigate the association between baseline WMH shape and cerebrovascular disease progression over 5 years. A more irregular shape of periventricular/confluent and deep WMH at baseline is associated with increased progression of WMH volume. Moreover, a more irregular shape of periventricular/confluent WMH was associated with occurrence of new microbleeds and new subcortical infarcts at follow-up. Our findings indicate that a more irregular WMH shape is associated with SVD progression.
Development of a high-resolution magnetic susceptibility template of the older adult brain in MIITRA space
Authors: Abid Rasheed , Ridwan Abdur , Wu Yingjuan , Niaz Mohammad , Zhang Shengwei , Evia Arnold , Bennett David , Arfanakis Konstantinos
Published: August 2024

Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) is considered a promising tool for the detection and monitoring of disease processes that alter magnetic susceptibility in the brain of older adults. Voxel-wise and atlas-based QSM analyses require accurate spatial normalization of QSM data, which requires a high quality QSM template representative of the population. However, a QSM template of the older adult brain is not yet available. This study aimed to construct a high quality, high resolution QSM template of the older adult brain in the space of the MITRA atlas based on data from a large, diverse, community cohort of non-demented older adults.
Association of peripheral inflammation with disrupted brain functional network topology in bipolar disorder
Authors: Tang Guixian , Chen Guanmao , Qian Long , Wang Ying
Published: August 2024

This study provided preliminary evidence of the association between disrupted brain functional network topology and neuroinflammation in BD. The current study demonstrated disrupted topological organization in the whole brain and regional connectivity was associated with inflammatory cytokines of the IL-4, IL-8 and IL-10 levels in BD. Moreover, our results indicated that higher IL-4 levels and impaired regional connectivity in the temporal pole may be associated with the severer depressive symptoms in BD.