Cognition and functional connectivity

Emerging evidences suggest that cognitive deficits in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are associated with disruptions in brain functional connectivity (FC). This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively evaluate alterations in FC between MCI individuals and healthy control (HC) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Thirteen studies were included in qualitative analysis, with two studies synthesized for quantitative meta-analysis. Overall, MCI patients exhibited reduced resting-state FC, predominantly in the prefrontal, parietal, and occipital cortex...

BACKGROUND: Better understanding apathy in late-life depression (LLD) would help predicting poor prognosis of the disease such as dementia. Actimetry provides an objective and ecological measure of apathy from patients' daily motor activity. We aimed to determine if patterns of motor activity were associated with apathy and brain connectivity in networks underlying goal-directed behaviors. METHODS: Resting-state functional MRI and diffusion MRI were collected from 38 non-demented LLD subjects...

Cognitive impairment (CI) has been reported in 29-70% of patients with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Abnormal white matter (WM) functional networks that correlate with cognitive functions have not been studied well in patients with NMOSD. The aim of the current study was to investigate functional connectivity (FC), spontaneous activity, and functional covariance connectivity (FCC) abnormalities of WM functional networks in patients with NMOSD and their correlation with cognitive performance...

Trust propensity (TP) relies more on social than economic rationality to transform the perceived probability of betrayal into positive reciprocity expectations in older adults with normal cognition. While deficits in social rationality have been observed in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), there is limited research on TP and its associated resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) mechanisms in this population. To measure TP and related psychological functions (affect, motivation, executive cognition, and social cognition), MCI (n=42) and normal healthy control (NHC, n=115) groups completed a one-shot trust game and additional assessments of related psychological functions...

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have documented thalamic functional connectivity (FC) abnormalities in schizophrenia, typically examining the thalamus as a whole. The specific link between subregional thalamic FC and cognitive deficits in first-episode schizophrenia (FES) remains unexplored. METHODS: Using data from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we compared whole-brain FC with thalamic subregions between patients and HCs, and analyzed FC changes in drug-naïve patients separately...

The transition to parenthood remains an understudied window of potential neuroplasticity in the adult brain. White matter microstructural (WMM) organization, which reflects structural connectivity in the brain, has shown plasticity across the lifespan. No studies have examined how WMM organization changes from the prenatal to postpartum period in men becoming fathers. This study investigates WMM organization in men transitioning to first-time fatherhood. We performed diffusion-weighted imaging to identify differences in WMM organization, as indexed by fractional anisotropy (FA)...

The claustrum is an ancient telencephalic subcortical structure displaying extensive, reciprocal connections with much of the cortex and receiving projections from thalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus. This structure has a general role in modulating cortical excitability and is considered to be engaged in different cognitive and motor functions, such as sensory integration and perceptual binding, salience-guided attention, top-down executive functions, as well as in the control of brain states, such as sleep and its interhemispheric integration...

Aberrant cognitive network activity and cognitive deficits are established features of chronic pain. However, the nature of cognitive network alterations associated with chronic pain and their underlying mechanisms require elucidation. Here, we report that the claustrum, a subcortical nucleus implicated in cognitive network modulation, is activated by acute painful stimulation and pain-predictive cues in healthy participants. Moreover, we discover pathological activity of the claustrum and a region near the posterior inferior frontal sulcus of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (piDLPFC) in migraine patients during acute pain and cognitive task performance...

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. Twenty male athletes (27.3 ± 3.6 years) underwent cycling exercises of different intensities (high, low, rest/control) on different days in randomized order. Before and after, subjects performed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and a behavioral Attention Network Test (ANT)...

Deficits in social cognition (SC) interfere with recovery in schizophrenia (SZ) and may be related to resting state brain connectivity. This study aimed at assessing the alterations in the relationship between resting state functional connectivity and the social-cognitive abilities of patients with SZ compared to healthy subjects. We divided the brain into 246 regions of interest (ROI) following the Human Healthy Volunteers Brainnetome Atlas. For each participant, we calculated the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in terms of degree centrality (DC), which evaluates the total strength of the most powerful coactivations of every ROI with all other ROIs during rest...

The midbrain dopamine system is a sophisticated hub that integrates diverse inputs to control multiple physiological functions, including locomotion, motivation, cognition, reward, as well as maternal and reproductive behaviors. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that binds to G-protein-coupled receptors. Dopamine also works together with other neurotransmitters and various neuropeptides to maintain the balance of synaptic functions. The dysfunction of the dopamine system leads to several conditions, including Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, major depression, schizophrenia, and drug addiction...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex degenerative disease of the central nervous system that is clinically characterized by a progressive decline in memory and cognitive function. The pathogenesis of AD is intricate and not yet fully understood. Neuroinflammation, particularly microglial activation-mediated neuroinflammation, is believed to play a crucial role in increasing the risk, triggering the onset, and hastening the progression of AD. Modulating microglial activation and regulating microglial energy metabolic disorder are seen as promising strategies to intervene in AD...

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) profoundly impact maternal and infant health, affecting women worldwide during pregnancy and postpartum. This review synthesizes current research on the neurobiological effects of PMADs, particularly their influence on brain structure, function, and corresponding cognitive, behavioral, and mental health outcomes in mothers. A literature search across PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar yielded studies utilizing neuroimaging (MRI, fMRI) and cognitive assessments to explore brain changes in PMADs...

Anemia is a common hematological disorder that affects 12% of the community-dwelling population, 40% of hospitalized patients, and 47% of nursing home residents. Our understanding of the impact of inflammation on iron metabolism and erythropoiesis is still lacking. In older adults, anemia can be divided into nutritional deficiency anemia, bleeding anemia, and unexplained anemia. The last type of anemia might be caused by reduced erythropoietin (EPO) activity, progressive EPO resistance of bone marrow erythroid progenitors, and the chronic subclinical pro-inflammatory state...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) experience accelerated aging and, thus, a high prevalence of frailty. Our aim is to outline the type of frailty and prefrailty from a multidimensional perspective and the interaction of these dimensions in this scenery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Observational study of patients with DM over 60 years-old. Variables related to nutrition, cognitive and emotional status, physical and instrumental functional capacity and social resources were collected...

In the current study, we investigated the role of executive functions in explaining how word recognition and language comprehension jointly predict reading comprehension in multilingual and monolingual students (Grades 1 and 2). Specifically, mediation and moderation models were tested and compared to offer a more nuanced understanding of the role of executive functions in reading comprehension. The results provided support for the mediation model in which executive functions indirectly contribute to reading comprehension via word recognition and language comprehension in both language groups...

The aim of this systematic literature review was to investigate the role of the cerebellum in the affective symptoms observed in patients with bipolar disorder. The present systematic literature review included clinical studies conducted from 2013-2023 among adult populations with bipolar I and II disorders, along with their specifiers. With regard to cerebellar pathology, it was found that those with bipolar disorder performed worse than their healthy counterparts in their ability to comprehend the mental states of others and in identifying negative mental states...

BACKGROUND: Resting-state network (RSN) functional connectivity analyses have profoundly influenced our understanding of the pathophysiology of psychoses and their clinical high risk (CHR) states. However, conventional RSN analyses address the static nature of large-scale brain networks. In contrast, novel methodological approaches aim to assess the momentum state and temporal dynamics of brain network interactions. METHODS: Fifty CHR individuals and 33 healthy controls (HC) completed a resting-state functional MRI scan...

BACKGROUND: In the spectrum of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and related disorders, the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) signals within the cerebral cortex may exhibit distinct characteristics across various frequency ranges. Nevertheless, this hypothesis has not yet been substantiated within the broader context of whole-brain functional connectivity. This study aims to explore potential modifications in degree centrality (DC) and voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) among individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and AD, while assessing whether these alterations differ across distinct frequency bands...

BACKGROUND: Deficits in executive function (EF) are consistently reported in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Tailored cognitive training tools, such as neurofeedback, focused on executive function enhancement might have a significant impact on the daily life functioning of individuals with ASD. We report the first real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rt-fMRI NF) study targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in ASD. METHODS: Thirteen individuals with autism without intellectual disability and seventeen neurotypical individuals completed a rt-fMRI working memory NF paradigm, consisting of subvocal backward recitation of self-generated numeric sequences...