Imaging of neuroinflammation in migraine with aura: A [11C]PBR28 PET/MRI study

Objectiveandnbsp;To determine if migraine with aura is associated with neuroinflammation, which has been suggested by preclinical models of cortical spreading depression (CSD) as well as imaging of human pain conditions. Methodsandnbsp;Thirteen migraineurs with aura and 16 healthy controls received integrated PET/MRI brain scans with [11C]PBR28, a radioligand that binds to the 18 kDa translocator protein, a marker of glial activation. Standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) was compared between groups, and regressed against clinical variables, using region of interest and whole-brain voxelwise analyses. Resultsandnbsp;Compared to healthy controls, migraineurs demonstrated SUVR elevations in nociceptive processing areas (e.g., thalamus and primary/secondary somatosensory and insular cortices) as well as in areas previously shown to be involved in CSD generation (visual cortex). SUVR levels in frontoinsular cortex, primary/secondary somatosensory cortices, and basal ganglia were correlated with frequency of migraine attacks. Conclusionsandnbsp;These findings demonstrate that migraine with aura is associated with neuroimmune activation/neuroinflammation, and support a possible link between CSD and glial activation, previously observed in animals.</p

Intact perception but abnormal orientation towards face-like objects in young children with ASD

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The Importance of Networking in Autism Gaze Analysis

International audienceVisual scanning of faces in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been intensively studied using eye-tracking technology. However, most of studies have relied on the same analytic approach based on the quantification of fixation time, which may have failed to reveal some important features of the scanning strategies employed by individuals with ASD. In the present study, we examined the scanning of faces in a group of 20 pre-schoolers with ASD and their typically developing (TD) peers, using both classical fixation time approach and a new developed approach based on transition matrices and network analysis. We found between group differences in the eye region in terms of fixation time, with increased right eye fixation time for the ASD group and increased left eye fixation time for the TD group. Our complementary network approach revealed that the left eye might play the role of an anchor in the scanning strategies of TD children but not in that of children with ASD. In ASD, fixation time on the different facial parts was almost exclusively dependent on exploratory activity. Our study highlights the importance of developing innovative measures that bear the potential of revealing new properties of the scanning strategies employed by individuals with ASD