Infant behavioral reactivity predicts change in amygdala volume 12 years later

The current study examined the link between temperamental reactivity in infancy and amygdala development in middle childhood. A sample (n = 291) of four-month-old infants was assessed for infant temperament, and two groups were identified: those exhibiting negative reactivity (n = 116) and those exhibiting positive reactivity (n = 106). At 10 and 12 years of age structural imaging was completed on a subset of these participants (n = 75). Results indicate that, between 10 and 12 years of age, left amygdala volume increased more slowly in those with negative compared to positive reactive temperament. These results provide novel evidence linking early temperament to distinct patterns of brain development over middle childhood

MRI Processing Pipeline Variability and Infant Brain Morphometry Associations to 4-Month Infant Temperament

Negative reactive temperament, an infant temperament characterized by fear of novelty, is associated with adolescent amygdala volume (Filippi et al, 2020) and adult prefrontal cortex (PFC) thickness (Schwartz et al, 2010). However, it remains unknown whether these differences in brain morphometry emerge in infancy. Further, evaluating this possibility is a challenge because few pipelines are optimized for processing infant magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. Thus, evaluation of available infant MRI processing pipelines is necessary prior to examining associations between negative reactivity and brain morphometry. This study examines (1) which MRI pipeline performs best for 4-month-old infant MRI data and (2) associations between temperament and brain morphometry. Behavioral reactivity was assessed by presenting novel stimuli to infants. High-resolution structural MRI data was acquired a few weeks later. MRI data were processed using the iBEAT (Dai et al, 2013), dHCP (Makropoulos et al, 2018), and CIVET (Ad-Dab’bagh et al., 2006) pipelines to obtain estimates of amygdala and PFC volume. The quality of segmentations of the three pipelines was then assessed. The processing pipelines showed differences in terms of quality of gray/white segmentation and percentage of processing failures. Overall, iBEAT performed the best with the highest percent of useable data. Using the iBEAT output, we examined the associations between infant brain morphometry and reactivity. Results indicated no significant association between amygdala or PFC volume and reactivity

Dear reviewers: Responses to common reviewer critiques about infant neuroimaging studies

The field of adult neuroimaging relies on well-established principles in research design, imaging sequences, processing pipelines, as well as safety and data collection protocols. The field of infant magnetic resonance imaging, by comparison, is a young field with tremendous scientific potential but continuously evolving standards. The present article aims to initiate a constructive dialog between researchers who grapple with the challenges and inherent limitations of a nascent field and reviewers who evaluate their work. We address 20 questions that researchers commonly receive from research ethics boards, grant, and manuscript reviewers related to infant neuroimaging data collection, safety protocols, study planning, imaging sequences, decisions related to software and hardware, and data processing and sharing, while acknowledging both the accomplishments of the field and areas of much needed future advancements. This article reflects the cumulative knowledge of experts in the FIT\u27NG community and can act as a resource for both researchers and reviewers alike seeking a deeper understanding of the standards and tradeoffs involved in infant neuroimaging

Dear reviewers: responses to common reviewer critiques about infant neuroimaging studies

The field of adult neuroimaging relies on well-established principles in research design, imaging sequences, processing pipelines, as well as safety and data collection protocols. The field of infant magnetic resonance imaging, by comparison, is a young field with tremendous scientific potential but continuously evolving standards. The present article aims to initiate a constructive dialog between researchers who grapple with the challenges and inherent limitations of a nascent field and reviewers who evaluate their work. We address 20 questions that researchers commonly receive from research ethics boards, grant, and manuscript reviewers related to infant neuroimaging data collection, safety protocols, study planning, imaging sequences, decisions related to software and hardware, and data processing and sharing, while acknowledging both the accomplishments of the field and areas of much needed future advancements. This article reflects the cumulative knowledge of experts in the FIT'NG community and can act as a resource for both researchers and reviewers alike seeking a deeper understanding of the standards and tradeoffs involved in infant neuroimaging.R01 MH104324 - NIMH NIH HHS; UL1 TR001863 - NCATS NIH HHS; P50 MH115716 - NIMH NIH HHS; K01 MH108741 - NIMH NIH HHS; TL1 TR001864 - NCATS NIH HHS; R01 MH118285 - NIMH NIH HHS; U01 MH110274 - NIMH NIH HHS; P50 MH100029 - NIMH NIH HHS; ZIA MH002782 - Intramural NIH HHS; R01 EB027147 - NIBIB NIH HHS; R01 MH119251 - NIMH NIH HHS; UL1 TR003015 - NCATS NIH HHS; F31 HD102156 - NICHD NIH HHS; KL2 TR003016 - NCATS NIH HHS; T32 MH018268 - NIMH NIH HHSPublished versio

An ode to fetal, infant, and toddler neuroimaging: chronicling early clinical to research applications with MRI, and an introduction to an academic society connecting the field

Fetal, infant, and toddler neuroimaging is commonly thought of as a development of modern times (last two decades). Yet, this field mobilized shortly after the discovery and implementation of MRI technology. Here, we provide a review of the parallel advancements in the fields of fetal, infant, and toddler neuroimaging, noting the shifts from clinical to research use, and the ongoing challenges in this fast-growing field. We chronicle the pioneering science of fetal, infant, and toddler neuroimaging, highlighting the early studies that set the stage for modern advances in imaging during this developmental period, and the large-scale multi-site efforts which ultimately led to the explosion of interest in the field today. Lastly, we consider the growing pains of the community and the need for an academic society that bridges expertise in developmental neuroscience, clinical science, as well as computational and biomedical engineering, to ensure special consideration of the vulnerable mother-offspring dyad (especially during pregnancy), data quality, and image processing tools that are created, rather than adapted, for the young brain.UL1 TR001863 - NCATS NIH HHS; R01 MH117983 - NIMH NIH HHS; K24 MH127381 - NIMH NIH HHS; UL1 TR001873 - NCATS NIH HHS; TL1 TR001875 - NCATS NIH HHS; T32 MH018268 - NIMH NIH HHS; ZIA MH002782 - Intramural NIH HHS; UL1 TR003015 - NCATS NIH HHS; KL2 TR003016 - NCATS NIH HHS; R01 HD065762 - NICHD NIH HHS; R03 EB022754 - NIBIB NIH HHS; R21 HD095338 - NICHD NIH HHS; R01 HD093578 - NICHD NIH HHS; R01 HD099846 - NICHD NIH HHS; R01 HD100560 - NICHD NIH HHSPublished versio

ENIGMA and global neuroscience: A decade of large-scale studies of the brain in health and disease across more than 40 countries.

This review summarizes the last decade of work by the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Consortium, a global alliance of over 1400 scientists across 43 countries, studying the human brain in health and disease. Building on large-scale genetic studies that discovered the first robustly replicated genetic loci associated with brain metrics, ENIGMA has diversified into over 50 working groups (WGs), pooling worldwide data and expertise to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and genetics. Most ENIGMA WGs focus on specific psychiatric and neurological conditions, other WGs study normal variation due to sex and gender differences, or development and aging; still other WGs develop methodological pipelines and tools to facilitate harmonized analyses of "big data" (i.e., genetic and epigenetic data, multimodal MRI, and electroencephalography data). These international efforts have yielded the largest neuroimaging studies to date in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. More recent ENIGMA WGs have formed to study anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts and behavior, sleep and insomnia, eating disorders, irritability, brain injury, antisocial personality and conduct disorder, and dissociative identity disorder. Here, we summarize the first decade of ENIGMA's activities and ongoing projects, and describe the successes and challenges encountered along the way. We highlight the advantages of collaborative large-scale coordinated data analyses for testing reproducibility and robustness of findings, offering the opportunity to identify brain systems involved in clinical syndromes across diverse samples and associated genetic, environmental, demographic, cognitive, and psychosocial factors

ENIGMA-anxiety working group : Rationale for and organization of large-scale neuroimaging studies of anxiety disorders

Altres ajuts: Anxiety Disorders Research Network European College of Neuropsychopharmacology; Claude Leon Postdoctoral Fellowship; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation, 44541416-TRR58); EU7th Frame Work Marie Curie Actions International Staff Exchange Scheme grant 'European and South African Research Network in Anxiety Disorders' (EUSARNAD); Geestkracht programme of the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw, 10-000-1002); Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) program within the National Institute of Mental Health under the Intramural Research Program (NIMH-IRP, MH002781); National Institute of Mental Health under the Intramural Research Program (NIMH-IRP, ZIA-MH-002782); SA Medical Research Council; U.S. National Institutes of Health grants (P01 AG026572, P01 AG055367, P41 EB015922, R01 AG060610, R56 AG058854, RF1 AG051710, U54 EB020403).Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent and disabling but seem particularly tractable to investigation with translational neuroscience methodologies. Neuroimaging has informed our understanding of the neurobiology of anxiety disorders, but research has been limited by small sample sizes and low statistical power, as well as heterogenous imaging methodology. The ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group has brought together researchers from around the world, in a harmonized and coordinated effort to address these challenges and generate more robust and reproducible findings. This paper elaborates on the concepts and methods informing the work of the working group to date, and describes the initial approach of the four subgroups studying generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobia. At present, the ENIGMA-Anxiety database contains information about more than 100 unique samples, from 16 countries and 59 institutes. Future directions include examining additional imaging modalities, integrating imaging and genetic data, and collaborating with other ENIGMA working groups. The ENIGMA consortium creates synergy at the intersection of global mental health and clinical neuroscience, and the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group extends the promise of this approach to neuroimaging research on anxiety disorders

ENIGMA and global neuroscience: A decade of large-scale studies of the brain in health and disease across more than 40 countries

This review summarizes the last decade of work by the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta Analysis) Consortium, a global alliance of over 1400 scientists across 43 countries, studying the human brain in health and disease. Building on large-scale genetic studies that discovered the first robustly replicated genetic loci associated with brain metrics, ENIGMA has diversified into over 50 working groups (WGs), pooling worldwide data and expertise to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and genetics. Most ENIGMA WGs focus on specific psychiatric and neurological conditions, other WGs study normal variation due to sex and gender differences, or development and aging; still other WGs develop methodological pipelines and tools to facilitate harmonized analyses of "big data" (i.e., genetic and epigenetic data, multimodal MRI, and electroencephalography data). These international efforts have yielded the largest neuroimaging studies to date in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. More recent ENIGMA WGs have formed to study anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts and behavior, sleep and insomnia, eating disorders, irritability, brain injury, antisocial personality and conduct disorder, and dissociative identity disorder. Here, we summarize the first decade of ENIGMA's activities and ongoing projects, and describe the successes and challenges encountered along the way. We highlight the advantages of collaborative large-scale coordinated data analyses for testing reproducibility and robustness of findings, offering the opportunity to identify brain systems involved in clinical syndromes across diverse samples and associated genetic, environmental, demographic, cognitive, and psychosocial factors

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder