Masahiro Ida¹, Shunsuke Sugawara¹, Yuko Kubo¹, Keiko Hino¹, Naoya Yorozu¹, Tomohiro Suzuki¹, Shuzo Ikuta¹, and Yuko Kawaguchi^1
1Department of Radiology, Tokyo Metropolitan Ebara Hospital, Oota-ku, Tokyo, Japan

The purpose of this study was to compare the alteration of the neuromlanin (NM) signal in the substantia nigra (SN) and locus ceruleus (LC) of dementia with Lewy body (DLB) patients with that of PD and AD patients and normal controls (NC) to elucidate the clinical significance at 3T. NM imaging can detect signal reduction in the SN and LC which indicates alterations in the NM concentration and catecholaminergic neurons. The NM signals of the SN and LC in DLB were lower than normal subjects and AD. NM signal intensity in DLB was decreased to the same degree as PD patients. NM imaging is a helpful tool to distinguish DLB from AD in diagnosing patients with dementia.

Marco Bozzali¹, Mara Cercignani¹, Antonella Alberici², Enrico Premi², Laura Serra¹, Carlo Cerini², Maura Cosseddu², Carla Pettenati², Marina Turla², Silvana Archetti², Roberto Gasparotti², Alessandro Padovani², and Barbara Borroni^2
1Neuroimaging Laboratory, Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy, ²Neurology Unit, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy

Progranulin (PGRN) mutations have been recognized as monogenic causes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). However, their effect on brain tissue dysfunction/damage is poorly understood. Here, using voxel-based morphometry and resting-state fMRI, we investigated pre-symptomatic carriers and patients with FTLD with the same PGRN mutation. We show that PRGN mutation is an independent contributor to GM loss in FTLD. Using RS-fMRI, we show both, processes of disruption and reorganisation in specific networks, the latter being present since the preclinical stage of asymptomatic carriers . Again, the balance between functional disconnection and reorganization is unfavourable for FTLD patients carrying PRGN mutation.

Yu Zhang^1,2, Norbert Schuff^1,2, Maria Carmela Tartaglia², Joel Laxamana^1,2, Howard J Rosen², Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini², Bruce L Miller², and Michael W Weiner^1,3
1Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, United States, ²University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States, ³University California, San Francisco, CA, United States

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) with syndromes of motor neuron disease (FTD/MND) is a subtype of FTD that involves neurons controlling voluntary movement. Clinical and neuroimaging studies revealed overlaps between FTD and FTD/MND but their differences were unknown. This study aimed to evaluate these differences in concordant variations of regional atrophy and mean diffusivity (MD) changes of gray (GM), and concordant variations of regional atrophy and fractional anisotropy (FA) changes of white matter (WM). The findings of that FTD/MND had severer concordant GM damages than FTD reflected that the neuropathological features of FTD/MND are different to FTD syndromes without MND.

Julio Acosta-Cabronero¹, Karalyn Patterson¹, Tim D Fryer¹, John R Hodges², George Pengas¹, Guy B Williams¹, and Peter J Nestor^1
1Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, ²Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, Australia

Using tract-based spatial statistics, we compared diffusion tensor data from 10 semantic dementia (SD) patients and 21 controls. Abnormalities in all metrics were highly statistically significant in ventro-rostral temporal white matter, more extreme on the left side. To examine more remote changes, we performed an average-control tractography—three major neural pathways were found to emanate from the lesion: uncinate (UF), arcuate (AF) and inferior longitudinal fasciculi (ILF). At a less conservative threshold, tensor abnormalities in the SD group mapped onto the tractography for the UF and AF well beyond the rostral temporal lobe; but not further caudally along the ILF.

Olivier Balédent¹, Soraya El Sankari², Catherine Gondry-Jouet³, anthony Fichten⁴, Olivier Pottie¹, Roger Bouzerar¹, Jean-Marie Serot⁵, Olivier Godefroy², Hervé Deramond³, and Marc-Etienne Meyer^1
1Image processing, University hospital Jules Verne, Amiens, Picardie, France, ²Neurology, University hospital Jules Verne, Amiens, Picardie, France, ³Radiology, University hospital Jules Verne, Amiens, Picardie, France, ⁴Neurosurgery, University hospital Jules Verne, Amiens, Picardie, France, ⁵Geriatry, University hospital Jules Verne, Amiens, Picardie, France

Our purpose was to evaluate PC-MRI on intracranial flows in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer Disease (AD). Patients underwent 3T MRI with 2D Phase Contrast (2D-PCMRI) pulse sequences to evaluate CSF oscillations and cerebral blood flows. Results were compared to normal values in age matched elderly healthy volunteers, and to Chronic Adult Hydrocephalus (CAH) patients. Arterial flow was significantly increased in MCI patients. Aqueductal CSF flow was normal in AD, hyper dynamic in MCI patients but less than in CAH patients. In conclusion this study highlights the interest of 2D-PCMRI and supports the vascular theory of AD pathophysiology

Ying Wu^1,2, Hongyan Du³, Christopher Glielmi⁴, Shawn Sidharthan¹, Ryan Hutten¹, Ann Ragin⁵, Paul S Tofts⁶, and Robert R. Edelman^1
1Radiology, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, United States, ²Radiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States, ³Center for Clinical Research Informatics, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, United States, ⁴MR Research and Development, Siemens Healthcare, Chicago, IL, United States,⁵Radiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, United States, ⁶Imaging Physics, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, United Kingdom

Obtaining magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) measurements of hippocampus and other basal ganglia regions necessitated human manual operation in the past. Most of studies of MT had been conducted at 1.5T. The validity of MTR at 3T has not been fully established. This investigation tested a high resolution MT sequence targeting small brain functional regions and implemented automated subcortical segmentation to eliminate human operator bias. We demonstrate excellent reliability in critical small brain regions that are susceptible to neurodegenerative pathologies such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Christopher Glielmi¹, Ryan Hutten², Shawn Sidharthan², Hongyan Du², Todd Parrish³, Ann Ragin⁴, Robert R Edelman², and Ying Wu^2
1Cardiovascular MR R&D, Siemens Healthcare, Chicago, IL, United States, ²NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL, United States, ³Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States, ⁴Radiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States

T1 and T2* mapping are useful approaches to detect and monitor degenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, reproducibility between repeated measures must be evaluated for clinical studies involving serial scanning. This study explores reliability and reproducibility of various histogram analysis metrics for T1 and T2* mapping in healthy subjects at 3T. Specifically, focus is on subcortical regions relevant to neurodegenerative diseases such as PD and AD.

Ryo Sakamoto¹, Tomohisa Okada¹, Akira Yamamoto¹, Mitsunori Kanagaki¹, Seiko Kasahara¹, Emiko Morimoto¹, Mami Iima¹, Satoshi Nakajima¹, Taha Mohammed Mehemed¹, and Kaori Togashi^1
1Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan

Clinical applications of ADC measurement for disorders involving hippocampus are highly important. It requires reasonable reproducibility in acceptable scan time. In single-shot EPI, 2D-RF excitations enables reduced FOV, and less distorted DWI (2DRF-DWI) can be obtained. For multi-shot EPI, readout-segmented EPI can be used for DWI measurement (RS-DWI). These two methods gave highly reproducible CV values of ADC: 1.82 �} 1.12 and 2.42 �} 1.36 %, respectively for RS-DWI and 2DRF-DWI. However, ADC values at hippocampus were 0.881�} 0.027�~10-3 mm2/s and 0.463 �} 0.039�~10-3 mm2/s, respectively, and the latter resulted from low SNR in 2DRF-DWI.

Sun Mi Kim¹, Min Ji Kim¹, Chang-Woo Ryu¹, Eui Jong Kim², Woo Suk Choi², Geon-Ho Jahng¹, and Dal-Mo Yang^1
1Radiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital-Gangdong, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, ²Radiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital, School of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

We prospectively evaluate if the gray matter(GM) loss, the diffusion aniotropic change, the cerebral perfusion reduction demonstrate a pattern of concordance or dissociation in subjects with AD, MCI, compared with cognitively normal(CN) subjects. 3D isotrophic T1WI, DT-MRI, and pulsed ASL were obtained in 26 AD, 26 MCI, and 26 CN subjects. Multimodal investigations can demonstrate the pattern of concordance or dissociation in patients with AD and MCI. Concordance areas of GM loss, the diffusion change, and perfusion reduction were mainly in the temporal lobes, the cingulum, and the parietal lobes.

Yongxia Zhou¹, Yulin Ge¹, and John H Dougherty^2
1Radiology/Center for Biomedical Imaging, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States, ²Medicine and Cole Neuroscience Center, University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States

Using recently developed shape and thickness analysis, 17 subcortical brain structures have been studied in 9 early Alzheimer disease (AD) patients and 9 age-matched controls. Shape analysis via spherical harmonic approximation method showed either overall or tail/head deformation in AD patients on their 3D surface rendering views. Thickness analysis also showed structural distance map differences between two groups in several structures including amygdala and dorsal caudate. A strong negative correlation between structural thickness and fractional anisotropy from DTI was found in controls only. Local morphological changes demonstrated with 3D-shape and thickness analysis may have potential in early diagnosis of AD.

Sean C Deoni¹, Stephen Correia², Tanja Su², Jessica Man², Paul Malloy³, and Stephen Salloway^3
1School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States, ²Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States, ³Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a devastating neurological disorder, characterized by progressive impairment in memory, language, cognitive and behaviour. An emerging hypothesis of AD centers on the role of white matter alteration and, specifically, myelin loss, as a driving mechanism in the pathogenesis of the disorder. In this work, we directly investigate alteration in myelin content in mild AD for the first time using a rapid multicomponent relaxation time myelin imaging technique. Compared with healthy age-matched controls, we show reduced myelin content within the mild AD group that is significantly correlated with disability score (MMSE).

Eini Niskanen^1,2, Mervi Könönen^2,3, Sara Määttä³, Merja Hallikainen⁴, Miia Kivipelto^4,5, Silvia Casarotto⁶, Marcello Massimini⁶, Ritva Vanninen², and Hilkka Soininen^4,7
1Department of Physics and Mathematics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland, ²Department of Clinical Radiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland,³Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland, ⁴Institute of Clinical Medicine, Neurology, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland, ⁵Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, ⁶Department of Clinical Science "L. Sacco", Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy,⁷Department of Neurology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland

The structural information from cortical thickness analysis of anatomical MRI and the functional information from transcranial magnetic stimulation study of motor cortex excitability are combined in patients with AD or MCI and healthy controls. We found negative correlation between cortical thickness and motor cortex excitability in M1, S1, cuneus and precuneus. In AD, the motor cortex hyperexcitability seems to protect the motor functions, whereas in MCI this protective mechanism has not started yet. Our results show that the evolution of the disease proceeds with different dynamics in the structure and function of neuronal circuits from healthy via MCI to AD.

Song Lai¹, John Lackey¹, and Jianrong Shi^1
1Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States

A novel data-driven volumetric imaging statistical analysis methodology was developed for accurate differential diagnosis in individual subjects of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). This research explored the use of the unique datasets in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) to develop methodologies for identification of MRI biomarkers for differential diagnosis of AD and MCI in individual subjects. The rich ADNI MRI database were used to train models that recognize the structural differences between groups in comparison (i.e., normal vs. AD, MCI vs. AD, and normal vs. MCI). Preliminary study showed high diagnostic accuracy on individual subjects.

Min-Ji Kim^1,2, Geon-Ho Jahng¹, Hyck-Gi Kim¹, Sun-Mi Kim¹, Chang-Woo Ryu¹, Dal-Mo Yang¹, Hack-Young Lee³, Won-Chul Shin³, Dong- Kyun Lee⁴, and Jong-Min Lee^4
1Department of Radiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital-Gandong, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, ²East-West Neo Medical Center Kyung Hee Huiversity, Seoul, Korea, Democratic People's Republic of, ³Department of Neurology, Kyung Hee University Hospital-Gandong, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, ⁴Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Seoul, Korea, Republic of

To investigate regional shape differences of hippocampus through automated hippocampal segmentation in healthy aging (CN), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer¡¯s disease (AD), a three-dimensional T1-weighted imaging (i.e. MPRAGE) sequence was run in subjects with 26 MCI, 26 probable AD, and 26 HC. A fully automated hippocampal segmentation method was used for reconstructing three dimensional hippocampal shapes in each subject. The result showed a regional pattern of shape difference between normal control and amnestic MCI, more evident for inward deviation of lateral zone of the hippocampus, which intersects the area of the hippocampus containing the CA1 region.

Vincent Doré¹, Jurgen Fripp¹, Pierrick Bourgeat¹, Oscar Acosta^1,2, and Olivier Salvado^1
1Biomedical Imaging ICT, The Australian e-Health Research Centre, CSIRO, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, ²Université de Rennes1, France

MR imaging has been widely used to highlight the brain changes occurring in neurodegenerative diseases by comparing affected patients to healthy individuals. However, only few studies focus on contrast changes between gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM). To our knowledge, no longitudinal study of tissue intensities has been reported. We hypothesize that tissue alteration as measured by WM/GM could provide insights into the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We investigate the longitudinal evolution of the contrast using a new tissue normalisation method. The MRI intensity normalisation enable to measure significant change in contrast between AD patient and healthy elder.

Amy Kuceyeski¹, Yu Zhang^2,3, and Ashish Raj^1
1Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, United States, ²Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases, VA Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, United States, ³Radiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized as neuronal death primarily affecting the brain’s gray matter (GM). However, recent evidence shows altered white matter (WM) integrity in early AD and in asymptomatic people with genetic predispositions for AD. We propose a computational methodology that utilizes structural and diffusion image data of healthy and AD brains to identify correlations between WM loss and GM atrophy in AD patients. GM regions identified with our method agree with clinical knowledge of the progression of AD, and, more convincingly, our prediction correlates highly with observed atrophy in AD patients.

Sandhitsu Das¹, Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton², Marc Korczykowski², John Pluta¹, John Detre², and Paul Yushkevich^1
1PICSL, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²CfN, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

We report, for the first time, patterns of functional activation in hippocampal subfields in a cohort of temporal lobe epilepsy patients and healthy controls during a complex scene memory encoding task. We detect group differences in activation between controls and patients, with higher activation in controls and in patients' non-epileptogenic side than patients' epileptogenic side, with the greatest effects in dentate gyrus (DG) and in anterior hippocampus. DG is also found to be more active than CA1 in controls, but not in patients.

Cesar Caballero Gaudes¹, Serge Vulliemoz², Frederic Grouiller³, Magritta Seeck², Dimitri Van De Ville^1,4, and François Lazeyras^1
1Radiology Department, CIBM, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genéve, Geneva, Switzerland, ²Neurology Department, Epilepsy Unit, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genéve,³Neurology Department, Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, ⁴Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland

This work demonstrates that an information theoretic analysis based on the mutual information between the EEG-score and the fMRI data provides further insight in the study of epileptiform networks and interictal epileptic discharges with concurrent EEG-fMRI. This method balances the information provided by both imaging modalities, and does not require a-priori models for the haemodynamic response nor does it assume a linear relationship between the spiking epileptic activity detected on the scalp-EEG and BOLD responses. The technique was evaluated in 5 epileptic patients, confirming neurological assessment in 4 cases and showing better or equivalent performance than conventional GLM-based analysis.

Leslie Vlerick^1,2, and Eric Achten^1,2
1Dept. Neuroradiology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium, ²GIfMI (Ghent Institute for Functional and Metabolic Imaging), Ghent, Belgium

Functional connectivity analysis of resting-state fMRI (fcrs-fMRI) has been shown to be a robust non-invasive method for localization of functional areas and networks throughout the brain on an individual level. Its use for preoperative planning could overcome some of the disadvantages of traditional task-evoked fMRI. We acquired fcrs-fMRI data of 10 patients in presurgical evaluation, and compared the results with traditional task-fMRI data. In most of the subjects there is a good concordance between fcrs- and task-fMRI results, i.e. similar regions are found. We hereby provide evidence for the potential use of functional connectivity resting-state fMRI data in presurgical planning.

Maarten Vaessen^1,2, Marielle Vlooswijk^2,3, Jacobus Jansen^1,2, Marc de Krom³, Marian Majoie^3,4, Paul Hofman^1,2, Albert Aldenkamp^3,4, and Walter Backes^1,2
1Radiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, Netherlands, ²School for Mental Health and Neurosciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands,³Neurology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, Netherlands, ⁴Epilepsy Centre Kempenhaeghe, Heeze, Netherlands

The nature of cognitive difficulties in chronic epilepsy ranges from circumscribed memory deficits to global intellectual decline. With functional connectivity MRI and graph theoretical network analysis, the topology of the whole cerebral network can be investigated. To study the relation between possibly altered whole brain topology and intellectual decline in chronic epilepsy, a combined study of neurocognitive assessment, and fMRI with graph theoretical network analysis was performed. In patients with epilepsy a disruption of both local segregation and global integration was found. Additionally, an association of more pronounced intellectual decline with more disturbed local segregation was observed.

Lin Tang¹, Yulin Ge¹, Daniel K Sodickson¹, Laura Miles¹, Joseph Reaume¹, and Robert I Grossman^1
1NYU CBI, New York, NY, United States

A consistent and symmetric pattern of thalamic resting state functional networks (RSNs) is described for better understanding of thalamocortical pathways and neurocognitive function. Thalamic RSNs are disrupted in patients with MTBI, indicating there is compensatory upregulation of neural connectivity associated with subtle thalamic injury that appears to be related to the performance in neurocognitive testing, suggesting RS-fMRI can be used as an additional imaging modality for detection of abnormalities and for elucidating the pathophysiology behind persistent postconcussive syndrome.

Hanzhang Lu¹, Daren Denniston², Binu Thomas¹, Jinsoo Uh¹, Thomas J. Carmody², Richard Auchus³, Ramon Diaz-Arristia⁴, Carol Tamminga², and E. Sherwood Brown^2
1Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States, ²Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States, ³Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States,⁴Department of Neurology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States

An important application of fMRI is to provide a marker for medication effect on neural activity. A potential problem is that other consequences of the medication, including global changes in physiology, are often not considered, but could influence the amplitude of fMRI signal independent of neural activity. Here we demonstrated that hydrocortisone, a stress and corticosteroid hormone that are used to treat asthma and other medical illnesses but could cause memory decline, reduces resting venous blood oxygenation and that normalized fMRI signal after accounting for this global change allowed the detection of hippocampal alterations after merely three days of medication.

Richard Andrew James Masterton¹, Patrick W Carney^1,2, and Graeme D Jackson^1,2
1Brain Research Institute, Florey Neuroscience Institutes, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, ²Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Generalised spike wave (GSW) discharges are a hallmark of childhood absence epilepsy (CAE). Previous EEG-fMRI studies have identified a common network of brain regions that are active during these events. In this study we measured fMRI functional connectivity in a group of CAE patients during periods free from GSW and compared this with healthy controls. We found patients had relatively decreased connectivity in the thalamus and increased connectivity in parietal cortex. This may contribute to increased cortical excitability and create a permissive environment for generation of GSW discharges, as well as explain the subtle cognitive impairments in these patients.

Chandler Sours¹, Josh Betz¹, Steve Roys¹, Bizhan Aarabi², Kathirkamanthan Shanmuganathan², Joel Greenspan³, and Rao Gullapalli^1,4
1Core for Translational Research in Imaging @ Maryland (CTRIM), University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, ²University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States, ³Department of Biomedical Sciences and Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, ⁴Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Based on cognitive deficits associated with mild TBI, we hypothesize that the default mode network (DMN) would be disrupted. Using resting state MRI, we measured the strength of functional connectivity within the DMN in TBI patients immediately following injury and at one month, comparing these to a control group. We found the strength of functional connectivity was decreased at the initial time point in the right medial temporal lobe, bilateral frontal cortex, and bilateral thalamus. This decreased functional connectivity began to normalize at one month with the exception of the frontal cortex suggesting that executive function may still be effected.

Cécile Gallea¹, Léa Marais¹, Traian Popa¹, David Grabli^2,3, Emmanuel Roze^2,3, Vincent Perlbarg⁴, David Coynel⁴, Bertrand Degos^2,3, Marie Vidailhet^2,3, Stéphane Lehéricy^1,2, and Sabine Meunier^2,3
1Centre for Neuroimaging Research - CENIR, Paris, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, France, ²Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, UPMC - INSERM UMR S975 - CNRS UMR 7225, ³Fédération des Maladies du Système Nerveux, AP-HP Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, ⁴Laboratoire d'Imagerie Fonctionnelle, INSERM - UPMC - UMR S678

Essential tremor (ET) is a movement disorder involving cerebellar dysfunction. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of cerebellar repetitive magnetic transcranial stimulation (rTMS) during five days on the fMRI functional connectivity in the sensorimotor network (SMN)in ET patients. Before rTMS, functional connectivity between the cerebellum and both the cortical SMN and default brain network (DBN) was decreased in TE as compared with control subjects. After rTMS, the cerebello-cortical connectivity was specifically and partially restored in TE patients in the SNM only. Therefore, the therapeutic effects of rTMS in ET patients may be mediated by a partial restoration of a reduced functional connectivity in the sensorimotor network.

Zhen Jiang^1,2, Alexandre Krainik^1,3, Olivier David³, Dominique Hoffmann¹, Irene Tropres⁴, Sylvie Grand^1,3, Emmanuel Barbier³, Stephan Chabardes^1,3, Jan Warnking³, and Jean-Francois Le Bas^1,3
1University Hospital Grenoble, Grenoble, France, ²2nd Affiliated Hospital - Soochow University, Suzhou, China, People's Republic of, ³Grenoble Institute of Neurosciences, Grenoble, France, ⁴Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble, France

In patients with brain tumor, motor-related activation in primary sensorimotor cortex was decreased in the ipsitumoral hemisphere, in case of meningiomas and high grade gliomas, but not in low grade gliomas. It was related to the vicinity of the lesion. Changes in basal perfusion did not account for the variance of activation asymmetry. BOLD signal evaluated using carbogen inhalation, a gas mixture of CO2 (7%) and O2 (93%), showed a similar asymmetry in eloquent cortices. Decreased interhemispheric ratio of the BOLD response to carbogen was the best predictor of the asymmetry of motor activation.

Kayako Matsuo¹, Annabel S.-H. Chen², Su-Chun Huang¹, Chih-Min Liu³, Chen-Chung Liu³, Hai-Go Hwu³, and Wen-Yih Isaac Tseng^1
1Center for Optoelectronic Biomedicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan, ²Division of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, ³Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan

Working memory dysfunction is a core cognitive symptom in schizophrenia. We applied a cerebro-cerebellar verbal working memory (VWM) model using fMRI to examine the cortico-cerebellar-thalamo-cortico-circuit (CCTCC) in patients with schizophrenia and their matched healthy controls. We observed overall greater activity in patients than healthy controls during VWM. In particular, patients showed a significantly larger extent of activations but of similar intensity values within relevant ROIs. We also found a pattern shift from left to bilateral activations in cortico-cerebellar regions. These findings suggested a compensatory system to cope with a functionally weakened VWM network in schizophrenia.

Yu-Chun Chang¹, Fred Nicolls², and Bruce S Spottiswoode^3,4
1Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, Western Province, South Africa, ²Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Cape Town, South Africa, ³MRC/UCT Medical Imaging Research Unit, Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town, South Africa, ⁴Department of Radiology, University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa

This work presents methods to adapt MRI data to create rapid prototyped scale models of a subject’s brain showing important structural and functional regions relative to a tumour. The grey matter of the structural MRI was segmented and co-registered to the fMRI data. This volume was split into two portions and meshed using a marching cubes and Laplacian smoothing algorithm. The accuracy of the model was shown to be 84.96%. The technique may prove useful for neurosurgical planning by providing clear reference landmarks on the surface of the brain, and by giving an intuitive indication of the depth and extent of the tumo

Jenny Wu^1,2, Erik B Beall¹, Mark J Lowe¹, Benjamin L Walter^3,4, Andre Machado⁵, and Micheal D Phillips^1
1Imaging Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States, ²New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, United States, ³Neurological Institute, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States, ⁴Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, United States, ⁵Center for Neurological Restoration, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States

This study compared resting state functional connectivity in a Parkinson's Disease (PD) patient between on and off subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) conditions. MPRAGE and resting state fMRI studies were acquired from a unilateral STN-DBS PD patient. Seed-based correlation analyses using basal ganglia regions of interest generated z-score maps of significant correlation to each region. Stimulation decreased bilateral connectivity in putamen and globus pallidus but increased thalamic connectivity with supplementary motor areas. These stimulation-associated changes may be involved with desynchronization of pallidal output to thalamus leading to strengthened connectivity to cortical areas.

Sylvie JM van der Kruijs¹, Maarten J Vaessen², Nynke MG Bodde¹, Richard HC Lazeron¹, Paul AM Hofman², Walter H Backes², Albert P Aldenkamp¹, and Jacobus F.A. Jansen^2
1Epilepsy Center Kempenhaeghe, Heeze, Netherlands, ²Radiology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, Netherlands

This study sought to investigate whether patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) differ from controls in their resting-state functional connectivity between regions typically activated during attentional processes. Eleven PNES patients and thirteen healthy controls underwent 2 task related (encode and Stroop) and resting state functional MRI. The encode and stroop paradigm did not reveal any differences between the 2 groups. Functional connectivity maps from the resting state fMRI (based on seeds from the encode and Stroop tasks) indicated statistically stronger correlations in the PNES patients. We observed a connectivity abnormality between areas involved in emotional responses and cognitive integration systems, which could explain the involuntary dissociative states typically seen in patients with PNES.

Marta Vidorreta¹, Elisa Mengual^2,3, Gonzalo Arrondo¹, María A Pastor¹, and María A Fernández-Seara^1
1Functional neuroimaging laboratory, Center for Applied Medical Research (University of Navarra), Pamplona, Navarra, Spain, ²Neuroanatomy of basal ganglia laboratory, Center for Applied Medical Research (University of Navarra), Pamplona, Navarra, Spain, ³Deparment of Anatomy, Medical School, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain

The effects of levodopa therapy were assessed in a group of Parkinson’s Disease patients using arterial spin labeling perfusion MRI during rest. Changes in perfusion between patients in their clinical “on” and “off” state were evaluated, finding a significant decrease in perfusion after medication intake in SMA and the posterior putamen contralateral to the affected body side, among other areas.These results suggest that levodopa relatively normalizes abnormally high perfusion levels typically observed in PD. A functional connectivity analysis with seed on the putamen showed how abnormal connectivity patterns related to the disease appear to be balanced by the medication.

Nasim Maleki¹, Gautam Pendse¹, Lauren Nutile², Rami Burstein³, Lino Becerra^1,4, and David Borsook^1
1P.A.I.N. Group, Brain Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, United States, ²Department of Psychology, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States, ³Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, ⁴Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA

The role of the hippocampus in migraine has not been well characterized. In this study we assessed whether there are any anatomical changes in the hippocampus in migraine patients based on the frequency of their migraine attacks and what the corresponding functional connectivity correlates are.

Suk-tak Chan¹, Ka-Yue Chan², Sau-fan Ma², Shuk-ling Law², Shuk-yee Ho², Hiu-kwan Lee², Kwok-wing Tang³, Andrew Kwok-cheung Lam⁴, James Yuk-ling Cheung³, and Kenneth K Kwong^1
1Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States, ²Department of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, ³Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Imaging, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong, ⁴School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

The functional interactions among brain regions in the network for saccadic eye movements would provide information on how the strabismic brains adapt to the visual deficits. Context-dependent correlation approach was used to study the functional connectivity for saccadic eye movements in both strabismic and healthy brains. Dominant negative correlations were demonstrated in strabismic brains relative to healthy brains. The connectivity findings imply the possible modulation of the functional connectivity for saccadic eye movements in a complicated network of brain regions in the frontal, supplementary, parietal and occipital eye fields, and midbrain of strabismic adults.

María A. Fernández-Seara¹, Marta Vidorreta¹, Maite Aznárez-Sanado¹, Francis Loayza¹, Federico Villagra¹, and Maria Pastor^1
1Center for Applied Medical Research, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Navarra, Spain

Using ASL perfusion MRI, we have detected perfusion and functional connectivity abnormalities in Parkinson’s disease patients in their clinical ON state. Decreased perfusion has been observed in parietal, motor, premotor and supplementary motor areas. More interestingly, however, increased functional connectivity has been detected in a network involving pre-SMA, subthalamic nucleus, thalamus and the frontal cortex. These areas have been previously identified as key nodes in a functional-anatomical network critical for response suppression.

Mingwu Jin¹, Victoria Pelak¹, Tim Curran², Rajesh Nandy³, and Dietmar Cordes^1
1University of Colorada Denver, Aurora, CO, United States, ²University of Colorada at Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States, ³UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Using a region of interest analysis on fMRI data from three memory paradigms including both encoding and recognition tasks, we investigate the altered functions in twelve subregions of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in aMCI subjects. Our results revealed: 1) Significant functional changes occur before significant structural changes; 2) The recognition task using face and occupation stimuli is more sensitive to detect dysfunction in MTL subregions in aMCI; 3) There exists an anti-correlation relationship between fMRI activations and neuropsychological test scores indicating possible compensation during abnormal cognitive decline.

Mingwu Jin¹, Victoria S Pelak¹, and Dietmar Cordes^1
1University of Colorada Denver, Aurora, CO, United States

Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is a syndrome with faster memory decline than normal aging, and frequently represents the prodromal phase of Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, group independent component analysis was conducted for resting-state fMRI data with slice perpendicular to the long axis of the hippocampus to investigate the default mode network (DMN). Decreased activity in left MTL was observed for aMCI. No volume difference between the aMCI group and the control group were found in the MTL. Altered DMN activity in aMCI may indicate deficiencies in functional brain architecture even before MTL atrophy is detectable.

Hui-jin Song¹, Jeehye Seo¹, Seong-uk Jin¹, Moon-jung Hwang², Young-ju Lee², and Yongmin Chang^1,3
1Medical & Biological Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea, Republic of, ²GE healthcare, Seoul, Korea, Republic of, ³Diagnostic Radiology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea, Republic of

Methamphetamine (MA) abusers often exhibit socially problematic behaviors such as diminished empathy, decreased emotional regulation, and interpersonal violence, which may be attributable to alterations in emotional perception. However, few studies have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to directly examine perceptual processing of threatening or fearful non-face images in methamphetamine abusers. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the difference in neural correlates of negative emotion processing between MA abusers and healthy subjects using a small subset of complex visual scenes depicting fear or threat, derived from IAPS. Based on our finding that MA abusers showed reduced activation in both insula and increased activation in FG, PG, and PCC relative to MA abusers. Hypoactivation of the insula in MA abusers relative to healthy subjects suggests that the ability of emotional awareness to threatening scenes and empathy for another¡¯s pain could be compromised in MA abusers. Hyperactivity in the FG, PG, and PCC in MA abusers relative to healthy subjects indicates that threatening and fearful images from the IAPS may remind MA abusers of episodic memory related to antisocial behaviors towards others. Therefore, functional impairment of these neural networks in MA abuse may contribute to altered perception of fearful scene, which could lead to diminish empathy and increase risk to aggressive behavior.

Ryan J. Cassidy¹, Shaun Boe^2,3, William McIlroy^4,5, and Simon J. Graham^6,7
1Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, ²School of Physiotherapy, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada,³Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada, ⁴Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, ⁵Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada, ⁶Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, ⁷Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Functional MRI analyses of motor skill acquisition have the potential to inform rehabilitative treatments of neurologic conditions, but experimental tasks used therein often face challenges including being mastered quickly and difficult to generalize. To address this, we have devised a novel short-term visuomotor learning task involving asymmetric bilateral gripping. Group analysis of fMRI data collected pre- and post-training confirms a gradual learning process involving cerebellar, thalamic, supplementary/primary motor regions, along with ventrolateral prefrontal cortical involvement illustrating a learning effect. Analysis with a varied task post-training confirms generalizability in the same regions, which is consistent with pilot behavioral results.

Yongxia Zhou¹, Lin Tang¹, Daniel K Sodickson¹, Joseph Reaume¹, Laura Miles¹, Robert I Grossman¹, and Yulin Ge^1
1Radiology/Center for Biomedical Imaging, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States

We used resting state fMRI to investigate the fronto-posterior connections; especially the posterior cingulate and medial frontal nodes contained in default mode networks (DMNs). Three different methods including seeding-based PCC connectivity, single-subject Informax ICA based and probabilistic multi-session temporal concatenation based group PICA were used to compare 23 MTBI patients to 18 controls. All three methods showed increased DMNs in medial frontal regions and slightly decreased DMNs in doros-lateral prefrontal regions in MTBI patients, suggesting that the MTBI patients might recruit more of medial orbito-frontal regions to mediate the resting networks when dorsolateral prefrontal connectivity is decreased due to injury.

Harald Kugel¹, Udo Dannlowski², Friederike Franke², Christa Hohoff², Peter Zwanzger², Thomas Lenzen², Dominik Grotegerd², Thomas Suslow^2,3, Volker Arolt², Walter Heindel¹, and Katharina Domschke^2
1Dept. of Clinical Radiology, University of Muenster, Muenster, NRW, Germany, ²Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Muenster, NRW, Germany, ³Dept. of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, SN, Germany

Anxiety disorders are debilitating psychiatric diseases that are related with hyperactivity of the amygdala, a central structure in the fear circuit. The neuropeptide S (NPS) is highly expressed in the amygdala, and a functional polymorphism in the NPS receptor gene has been associated with panic disorder and anxiety sensitivity. fMRI revealed a strong association of NPSR T alleles with right amygdala responsiveness to fear-relevant faces. The association peak was located in the basolateral amygdala. NPSR rs324981 apparently causes an indirect effect on trait anxiety and potentially contributes to the pathogenesis of anxiety disorders.

Xiawei Ou^1,2, Jeffrey H Snow³, John J Hall³, Amy Byerly³, and Charles M Glasier^1
1Department of Radiology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, ²Radiology, Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, AR, United States, ³Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States

FMRI studies on adolescents with spina bifida revealed lack of activation in the frontal lobe for a response inhibition task, suggesting poor frontal lobe functions for this population. In addition, normal adolescents had bilateral brain activation while adolescents with spina bifida had primarily right hemisphere activation. This pattern was present in both posterior brain regions and frontal lobes, and may indicate decreased left hemisphere functioning in adolescents with spina bifida.

Paul Foryt^1,2, Xue Wang¹, Renee Ochs¹, Jae-Hon Chung^1,2, Ying Wu^1,3, Todd Parrish¹, and Ann B. Ragin^1,3
1Radiology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States, ²Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States,³Radiology, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Illinois, United States

Using resting state functional connectivity MRI, thirty subjects, fifteen HIV+ and fifteen controls, were scanned on a 3.0T Siemens Trio to evaluate connectivity between brain networks. ICA component analysis was used on the collected data, finding that scanned HIV+ subjects had diminished connectivity within the lateral occipital cortex network, one of the main resting state networks. This network has been associated with visuospatial attention.

Frank M Skidmore^1,2, Mark Yang³, Lewis Baxter², Karen von Deneen², Guojun He², Keith White⁴, Kenneth Heilman⁵, Mark Gold², and Yijun Liu^2
1Neurology, North Florida/South Georgia VA Medical Center, Gainesville, Florida, United States, ²Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States, ³Department of Statistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States, ⁴Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States, ⁵Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States

We wished to evaluate if resting state fMRI could identify individuals with Parkinson disease (PD_. Analyzing the resting state and using a cross-validation approach, we were able to separate individuals with PD from controls with a 92% sensitivity and 86% specificity. Our work shows proof of concept for use of fMRI as a biomarker technique for identification of PD.

Yash Shailesh Shah¹, Daehyun Yoon¹, Opal Ousley², Xiaoping Hu², and Scott J Peltier^1
1University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, ²Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Asperger’s Disorder is a type of high functioning autism. An earlier study showed that resting state fMRI scans of subjects with Asperger’s Disorder show less synchronized activity between nodes of the default mode network. In this study, we have employed a machine learning algorithm using Support Vector Machine(SVM) to classify Asperger’s Disorder subjects from normal subjects. It also elicits the possibility of using Support Vector Regression(SVR) to quantify the severity of autism by relating it to the fMRI resting state functional connectivity measures.

Gwang-Won Kim¹, Moo-Suk Lee², Heoung-Keun Kang³, Tae-Jin Park⁴, Young-Chul Chung⁵, Jong-Chul Yang⁵, Gyung-Ho Chung⁶, and Gwang-Woo Jeong^1,3
1Interdisciplinary Program of Biomedical Engineering, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Chonnam, Korea, Republic of, ²Psychiatry, Chonnam National University Hospital, Korea, Republic of, ³Radiology, Chonnam National University Hospital, Korea, Republic of, ⁴Psychology, Chonnam National University, Korea, Republic of,⁵Psychiatry, Chonbuk National University Hospital, Korea, Republic of, ⁶Radiology, Chonbuk National University Hospital, Korea, Republic of

Impairment of working memory (WM) is an important factor of the cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia. Dysfunction of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) closely related to delayed-response WM is potentially involved with cognitive impairment of the WM observed in schizophrenia patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the differential frontal activation patterns reflecting the effects of emotional and non-emotional distracters during maintenance processes of WM for the human faces in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls by using a 3 Tesla function magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Elaine Cachia¹, Dinesh Selvarajah², Michael D Hunter³, John Snowden⁴, Sam H Ahmedzai⁵, and Iain D Wilkinson^1
1Academic Radiology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom, ²Diabetes, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, ³Academic Psychiatry, University of Sheffield,⁴Haematology, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, ⁵Palliative Care, University of Sheffield

Chemotherapy has significantly extended life expectancy in myeloma, but it has resulted in a high incidence of chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), which can be debilitating. This study investigates the brain’s response to pain stimulation in patients with CIPN using BOLD fMRI at 3T. 12 myeloma patients and 12 healthy volunteers underwent heat-pain stimulation in a boxcar-design paradigm. The BOLD response was evaluated using a general linear model. Painful stimuli to the foot produced significantly greater thalamic response than thigh stimulation in subjects with CIPN compared with healthy volunteers.

Ji-Young Kim¹, Jeehye Seo², Jae-jun Lee², Hui-jin Song², Seong-Uk Jin², and Yongmin Chang^2,3
1School of Medicine, Kyungpook Nataional University, Daegu, Korea, Republic of, ²Medical & Biological Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea, Republic of, ³Diagnostic Radiology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea, Republic of

Fibromyalgia is a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain, a heightened and painful response to pressure. Currently no investigation is available for identifying low frequency BOLD fluctuation components during active press pain stimulation paradigm while recent study evaluated low frequency fluctuation during resting-state. Using independent components analysis (ICA) of active press pain paradigm, our results demonstrated (1) the existence of intrinsic slow fluctuation BOLD signal components during active pain stimulation paradigm and (2) the possible differences in intrinsic brain connectivity between FM patients and healthy controls.

Harald Kugel¹, Markus Burgmer², Bettina Pfleiderer¹, Adrianna Ewert¹, Thomas Lenzen³, Regina Pioch², Martin Pyka⁴, Jens Sommer⁴, Volker Arolt³, Gereon Heuft², and Carsten Konrad^4
1Dept. of Clinical Radiology, University of Muenster, Muenster, NRW, Germany, ²Dept. of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Muenster, Muenster, NRW, Germany, ³Dept. of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Muenster, Muenster, NRW, Germany, ⁴Dept. of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Marburg, Marburg, HE, Germany

The neurobiological basis of nonorganic movement impairments is still unknown. As conversion disorder and hypnotic states share many characteristics, we applied an experimental design established in conversion disorder to investigate hypnotic paralysis. In nineteen healthy subjects movement imitation and observation were investigated by fMRI with and without hypnotically induced paralysis of their left hand. Hypnotic paralysis during movement imitation induced hypoactivation of the contralateral sensorimotor cortex and ipsilateral cerebellum, indicating a specific impact of hypnosis on executive control.