Central role of maladapted astrocytic plasticity in ischemic brain edema formation

Brain edema formation and the ensuing brain damages are the major cause of high mortality and long term disability following the occurrence of ischemic stroke. In this process, oxygen and glucose deprivation and the ensuing reperfusion injury play primary roles. In response to the ischemic insult, the neurovascular unit experiences both intracellular and extracellular edemas; the two processes are interactive closely under the driving of maladapted astrocytic plasticity. The astrocytic plasticity includes both morphologic and functional plasticity. The former involves a reactive gliosis and the ensuing glial retraction. It relates to the capacity of astrocytes to buffer changes in extracellular chemical levels, particularly K+ and glutamate, as well as the integrity of the blood-brain barrier. The latter involves the expression and activity of a series of ion and water transport proteins. These molecules are grouped together around glial fibrillary acidic protein and water channel protein aquaporin 4 to form functional networks, regulate hydromineral balance across cell membranes and maintain the integrity of the blood-brain barrier. Intense ischemic challenges can disrupt these capacities of astrocytes and result in their maladaptation. The maladapted astrocytic plasticity in ischemic stroke cannot only disrupt the hydromineral homeostasis across astrocyte membrane and the blood-brain barrier, but also lead to disorders of the whole neurovascular unit. This review focuses on how the maladapted astrocytic plasticity in ischemic stroke plays the central role in the brain edema formation

Distinct neural signatures detected for ADHD subtypes after controlling for micro-movements in resting state functional connectivity MRI data

Contains fulltext : 126873.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)In recent years, there has been growing enthusiasm that functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could achieve clinical utility for a broad range of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, several barriers remain. For example, the acquisition of large-scale datasets capable of clarifying the marked heterogeneity that exists in psychiatric illnesses will need to be realized. In addition, there continues to be a need for the development of image processing and analysis methods capable of separating signal from artifact. As a prototypical hyperkinetic disorder, and movement-related artifact being a significant confound in functional imaging studies, ADHD offers a unique challenge. As part of the ADHD-200 Global Competition and this special edition of Frontiers, the ADHD-200 Consortium demonstrates the utility of an aggregate dataset pooled across five institutions in addressing these challenges. The work aimed to (1) examine the impact of emerging techniques for controlling for "micro-movements," and (2) provide novel insights into the neural correlates of ADHD subtypes. Using support vector machine (SVM)-based multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) we show that functional connectivity patterns in individuals are capable of differentiating the two most prominent ADHD subtypes. The application of graph-theory revealed that the Combined (ADHD-C) and Inattentive (ADHD-I) subtypes demonstrated some overlapping (particularly sensorimotor systems), but unique patterns of atypical connectivity. For ADHD-C, atypical connectivity was prominent in midline default network components, as well as insular cortex; in contrast, the ADHD-I group exhibited atypical patterns within the dlPFC regions and cerebellum. Systematic motion-related artifact was noted, and highlighted the need for stringent motion correction. Findings reported were robust to the specific motion correction strategy employed. These data suggest that resting-state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI) data can be used to characterize individual patients with ADHD and to identify neural distinctions underlying the clinical heterogeneity of ADHD