At risk of being risky: The relationship between "brain age" under emotional states and risk preference.

Developmental differences regarding decision making are often reported in the absence of emotional stimuli and without context, failing to explain why some individuals are more likely to have a greater inclination toward risk. The current study (N=212; 10-25y) examined the influence of emotional context on underlying functional brain connectivity over development and its impact on risk preference. Using functional imaging data in a neutral brain-state we first identify the "brain age" of a given individual then validate it with an independent measure of cortical thickness. We then show, on average, that "brain age" across the group during the teen years has the propensity to look younger in emotional contexts. Further, we show this phenotype (i.e. a younger brain age in emotional contexts) relates to a group mean difference in risk perception - a pattern exemplified greatest in young-adults (ages 18-21). The results are suggestive of a specified functional brain phenotype that relates to being at "risk to be risky.

Visual attention in autism families: ‘unaffected’ sibs share atypical frontal activation

Background: In addition to their more clinically evident abnormalities of social cognition, people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) manifest perturbations of attention and sensory perception which may offer insights into the underlying neural abnormalities. Similar autistic traits in ASC relatives without a diagnosis suggest a continuity between clinically affected and unaffected family members

Maturation trajectories of cortical resting-state networks depend on the mediating frequency band

The functional significance of resting state networks and their abnormal manifestations in psychiatric disorders are firmly established, as is the importance of the cortical rhythms in mediating these networks. Resting state networks are known to undergo substantial reorganization from childhood to adulthood, but whether distinct cortical rhythms, which are generated by separable neural mechanisms and are often manifested abnormally in psychiatric conditions, mediate maturation differentially, remains unknown. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG) to map frequency band specific maturation of resting state networks from age 7 to 29 in 162 participants (31 independent), we found significant changes with age in networks mediated by the beta (13–30 Hz) and gamma (31–80 Hz) bands. More specifically, gamma band mediated networks followed an expected asymptotic trajectory, but beta band mediated networks followed a linear trajectory. Network integration increased with age in gamma band mediated networks, while local segregation increased with age in beta band mediated networks. Spatially, the hubs that changed in importance with age in the beta band mediated networks had relatively little overlap with those that showed the greatest changes in the gamma band mediated networks. These findings are relevant for our understanding of the neural mechanisms of cortical maturation, in both typical and atypical development.This work was supported by grants from the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation (TK, SK, MGK), Autism Speaks (TK), The Simons Foundation (SFARI 239395, TK), The National Institute of Child Health and Development (R01HD073254, TK), National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (P41EB015896, 5R01EB009048, MSH), and the Cognitive Rhythms Collaborative: A Discovery Network (NFS 1042134, MSH). (Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation; Autism Speaks; SFARI 239395 - Simons Foundation; R01HD073254 - National Institute of Child Health and Development; P41EB015896 - National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering; 5R01EB009048 - National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering; NFS 1042134 - Cognitive Rhythms Collaborative: A Discovery Network

A comparison of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging to invasive electrocortical stimulation for sensorimotor mapping in pediatric patients

Localizing neurologic function within the brain remains a significant challenge in clinical neurosurgery. Invasive mapping with direct electrocortical stimulation currently is the clinical gold standard but is impractical in young or cognitively delayed patients who are unable to reliably perform tasks. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging non-invasively identifies resting state networks without the need for task performance, hence, is well suited to pediatric patients. We compared sensorimotor network localization by resting state fMRI to cortical stimulation sensory and motor mapping in 16 pediatric patients aged 3.1 to 18.6 years. All had medically refractory epilepsy that required invasive electrographic monitoring and stimulation mapping. The resting state fMRI data were analyzed using a previously trained machine learning classifier that has previously been evaluated in adults. We report comparable functional localization by resting state fMRI compared to stimulation mapping. These results provide strong evidence for the utility of resting state functional imaging in the localization of sensorimotor cortex across a wide range of pediatric patients

An overview of the first 5 years of the ENIGMA obsessive–compulsive disorder working group: The power of worldwide collaboration

Abstract Neuroimaging has played an important part in advancing our understanding of the neurobiology of obsessive?compulsive disorder (OCD). At the same time, neuroimaging studies of OCD have had notable limitations, including reliance on relatively small samples. International collaborative efforts to increase statistical power by combining samples from across sites have been bolstered by the ENIGMA consortium; this provides specific technical expertise for conducting multi-site analyses, as well as access to a collaborative community of neuroimaging scientists. In this article, we outline the background to, development of, and initial findings from ENIGMA's OCD working group, which currently consists of 47 samples from 34 institutes in 15 countries on 5 continents, with a total sample of 2,323 OCD patients and 2,325 healthy controls. Initial work has focused on studies of cortical thickness and subcortical volumes, structural connectivity, and brain lateralization in children, adolescents and adults with OCD, also including the study on the commonalities and distinctions across different neurodevelopment disorders. Additional work is ongoing, employing machine learning techniques. Findings to date have contributed to the development of neurobiological models of OCD, have provided an important model of global scientific collaboration, and have had a number of clinical implications. Importantly, our work has shed new light on questions about whether structural and functional alterations found in OCD reflect neurodevelopmental changes, effects of the disease process, or medication impacts. We conclude with a summary of ongoing work by ENIGMA-OCD, and a consideration of future directions for neuroimaging research on OCD within and beyond ENIGMA

Neural indicators of fatigue in chronic diseases : A systematic review of MRI studies

The authors would like to thank the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust for their financial support.Peer reviewedPublisher PD