Pre-Surgical Language Mapping with Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Patients with lesions in or near eloquent cortex typically undergo one of several invasive techniques to prevent loss of function following surgery. One of the most promising potential clinical applications of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is to map these functions as part of the pre-surgical work-up to identify patients at-risk, guide the surgical entry, or tailor the surgical procedure to prevent deficits. While motor and sensory mapping are relatively straightforward, language mapping is far more complex. The language system is variable in location across individuals and in many cases may reorganize partially or completely to the contralateral hemisphere. In addition, multiple regions of the brain contribute to language functioning including essential regions that must not be removed in surgery, and contributory regions that may result in transient or insignificant impairments post-surgery. Despite these challenges, an increasing number of studies have supported the use of fMRI for pre-surgical language mapping in a variety of disorders. This article reviews the literature from three disorders for which patients benefit from preoperative language mapping: epilepsy, brain tumors, and arteriovenous malformations. Each disorder presents unique challenges to language mapping. Specific case studies are presented highlighting the both the potential benefits of preclinical fMRI for language mapping as well as the potential risks and pitfalls.     

Managing Frustration for Children (MFC) Group Intervention for ADHD: An Open Trial of a Novel Group Intervention for Deficient Emotion Regulation

Deficient emotion regulation is a common and impairing area of difficulty among children with ADHD. Few interventions specifically address deficient emotion regulation. The Managing Frustration for Children With ADHD (MFC) group treatment was developed to specifically target deficient emotion regulation deficits common to children with ADHD. The MFC was developed as a 12-week multisystemic intervention for emotion regulation deficits among children with ADHD. An open trial assessed the effectiveness of the MFC as an adjunctive treatment for deficient emotion regulation among children with ADHD. Fifty-two children with ADHD ages 9–11 (42 boys, 10 girls) were enrolled in the MFC, with 44 completing treatment. The majority (71.2%) of participants had at least one comorbid internalizing, externalizing, or learning disorder. Intent-to-treat repeated-measures ANCOVA suggested significant decreases in emotion regulation deficits, mood difficulties, and externalizing difficulties following completion of treatment. More than half (53%) of children who completed treatment experienced reliable and clinically significant improvement in at least one area of functioning. The MFC demonstrated promising initial effectiveness in addressing the emotion regulation deficits of children with ADHD.     

Application of deep transfer learning for automated brain abnormality classification using MR images

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most common imaging technique used to detect abnormal brain tumors. Traditionally, MRI images are analyzed manually by radiologists to detect the abnormal conditions in the brain. Manual interpretation of huge volume of images is time consuming and difficult. Hence, computer-based detection helps in accurate and fast diagnosis. In this study, we proposed an approach that uses deep transfer learning to automatically classify normal and abnormal brain MR images. Convolutional neural network (CNN) based ResNet34 model is used as a deep learning model. We have used current deep learning techniques such as data augmentation, optimal learning rate finder and fine-tuning to train the model. The proposed model achieved 5-fold classification accuracy of 100% on 613 MR images. Our developed system is ready to test on huge database and can assist the radiologists in their daily screening of MR images.     

Does experienced pain affects local brain volumes? Insights from a clinical acute pain model

Background/Objective:To study pain-brain morphometry associations as a function of post-surgery stages (anesthesia, pain and analgesia) in an acute pain model. Method:Impacted mandible third molar were extracted. Before surgery, an anatomical T1 scan was obtained. Regional brain volumen and subcortical nuclei shapes were obtained. Statistical analyses were done using multiple regression, being pain scores the predictors and voxel volumes, subcortical nuclei volumes and subcortical nuclei shapes, the outcomes. Results:Pain was significantly larger at pain than at anesthesia and analgesia stages, and was higher during anesthesia than during analgesia. Pain intensity was related to grey matter in several cortical (Insula, Mid Frontal and Temporal Gyruses, Precuneus, Anterior Cingulate), and subcortical nuclei (Hippocampus, Thalamus, Putamen, Amygdala), depending of the post-surgical stage. A larger number of brain areas showed significance at pain that at anesthesia and analgesia stages. Conclusions:The relationships of regional brain volumes and subcortical nuclei shapes with pain scores seemed to be unsteady, as they changed with the patient's actual pain stage.     

A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking

This article proposes a framework for theory and research on risk-taking that is informed by developmental neuroscience. Two fundamental questions motivate this review. First, why does risk-taking increase between childhood and adolescence? Second, why does risk-taking decline between adolescence and adulthood? Risk-taking increases between childhood and adolescence as a result of changes around the time of puberty in the brain’s socio-emotional system leading to increased reward-seeking, especially in the presence of peers, fueled mainly by a dramatic remodeling of the brain’s dopaminergic system. Risk-taking declines between adolescence and adulthood because of changes in the brain’s cognitive control system—changes which improve individuals’ capacity for self-regulation. These changes occur across adolescence and young adulthood and are seen in structural and functional changes within the prefrontal cortex and its connections to other brain regions. The differing timetables of these changes make mid-adolescence a time of heightened vulnerability to risky and reckless behavior.     

Air pollution, cognitive deficits and brain abnormalities: a pilot study with children and dogs

Exposure to air pollution is associated with neuroinflammation in healthy children and dogs in Mexico City. Comparative studies were carried out in healthy children and young dogs similarly exposed to ambient pollution in Mexico City. Children from Mexico City (n: 55) and a low polluted city (n:18) underwent psychometric testing and brain magnetic resonance imaging MRI. Seven healthy young dogs with similar exposure to Mexico City air pollution had brain MRI, measurement of mRNA abundance of two inflammatory genes cyclooxygenase-2, and interleukin 1 beta in target brain areas, and histopathological evaluation of brain tissue. Children with no known risk factors for neurological or cognitive disorders residing in a polluted urban environment exhibited significant deficits in a combination of fluid and crystallized cognition tasks. Fifty-six percent of Mexico City children tested showed prefrontal white matter hyperintense lesions and similar lesions were observed in dogs (57%). Exposed dogs had frontal lesions with vascular subcortical pathology associated with neuroinflammation, enlarged Virchow-Robin spaces, gliosis, and ultrafine particulate matter deposition. Based on the MRI findings, the prefrontal cortex was a target anatomical region in Mexico City children and its damage could have contributed to their cognitive dysfunction. The present work presents a groundbreaking, interdisciplinary methodology for addressing relationships between environmental pollution, structural brain alterations by MRI, and cognitive deficits/delays in healthy children.     

Re-evaluating the extractive foraging hypothesis

In his seminal 1992 paper, Dunbar examined three hypotheses advanced to explain primate intelligence, arguing that whereas his social group size hypothesis was supported, neither of two ecological hypotheses, the extractive foraging and frugivory hypotheses, were supported. Following this, and Dunbar's subsequently elaborated argument, many investigators concluded that primate intelligence arose as social rather than ecological adaptations. This paper questions Dunbar's characterization of extractive foraging and social intelligence as alternative hypotheses, raises sampling issues about Dunbar's brain data, species choice, and measurement of extractive foraging. It summarizes the extractive foraging hypothesis, and counters its critics. It reexamines the hypothesis in light of recent behavioral and brain data, new methodology for quantifying extractive foraging, and a new phylogeny of primate intelligence. It concludes that the extractive foraging hypothesis is now supported by several converging lines of evidence.     

A bio-inspired model of behavior considering decision-making and planning,spatial attention and basic motor commands processes

Cognitive architectures (CA) are an IA approach to implement computer systems with human-like behavior. Fundamental exhibited human capabilities include planning and decision-making. In that regard, numerous AI systems successfully exhibit human-like behavior but are limited to either achieving specific objectives or are restrained to too heavily constrained environments, which makes them unsuitable in the presence of unforeseen situations where autonomy is required. To try to alleviate the problem, we present a bio-inspired computational model to solve the autonomous navigation problem of a computational entity in a controlled context. This proposal is the result of the interaction between planning and decision-making, spatial attention and the motor cognitive functions. The proposed model is based on neuroscientific evidence concerning the involved cognitive functions and is part of a more general cognitive architecture. In the case study developed to validate our idea, we can see that the processes previously identified play an important role to accomplish spatial navigation. In the case study presented, an agent achieves the navigation over an unexplored maze from an initial to a final position successfully. The reunited results motivate us to continue improving our model considering attentional information to influence the agent’s motor behavior.     

Implicit processing of emotional words by children with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: An fMRI investigation

Background/ObjectiveIn the last decade, socio-political violence in Colombia (South America) has created an environment of extreme/chronic stress. In this study, brain imaging technology (fMRI) and behavioral task performance were used to measure potential deficits in executive functioning for emotional processing in Colombian children.MethodParticipants (22 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD and 22 neurotypical, NT) were asked to perform a word task with implicit emotional salience, which required them to report the color of the ink in which a positive, negative or neutral word was printed.ResultsMixed design analysis of variance showed no group differences in accuracy for determining ink color when presented as a positive or neutral word. However, PTSD children were significantly less accurate (negative words) and notably slower (both positive and negative words) at determining ink color when presented in the context of an emotional word. PTSD processing of positive and negative words was associated with hypoactivation in the superior and middle frontal gyri of the right hemisphere in comparison to NT children.ConclusionsThese results may reflect a deficit in executive functioning for emotionally laden stimuli, perhaps induced as a by-product of their traumatic experiences.     

动态磁共振成像在早期乳腺癌诊断中的临床研究

评价动态增强磁共振成像在早期乳腺癌诊断中的价值。随机选取2008年10月到2011年6月本院83例经B超或B超联合钼靶检查阴性的中青年女性行乳腺MRI检查,对MRI发现可疑结节病灶的患者进行手术活检,通过病理诊断来评价MRI在诊断早期乳腺癌的准确性和临床应用价值。83例中青年女性中,发现病变7例（8．4％）,癌前改变4...