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Ali M Golestani¹, Nichole R Bouffard², Morris Moscovitch^2,3, and Morgan D Barense^2,3
1University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, ²Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, ³Rotman Research Institute at Baucrest, Toronto, ON, Canada

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI

The autocorrelation (AC) of fMRI signal is affected by brain function and state. We used fMRI data acquired during working memory, mathematical computation, visual attention, and rest, and showed that the AC signal of gray matter dynamically changes across different task blocks. The dynamic AC (dAC) can be used to estimate brain-state changes with high accuracy. Classifier accuracy is correlated with the task performance; Subjects with better task performance have better accuracy in the dAC-based brain state classification. This study shows that the AC of the fMRI signal over time dynamically changes by the cognitive processes.

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Lyuan Xu^1,2, Soyoung Choi¹, Yu Zhao^1,3, Muwei Li^1,3, Baxter P. Rogers^1,3,4,5, John C. gore^1,3,4, Yurui Gao^1,4, and Zhaohua Ding^1,2,4
1Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States, ²Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ³Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States, ⁴Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ⁵Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Brain Connectivity, Seasonality

Seasonal variations have been observed in various aspects of human behavior. While studies have explored the seasonality effects in cognition and mood, possible underlying seasonal variations of human brain activity have not gained wide attention. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) based on blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) effects can detect and map functional activity and thus provides opportunities to characterize seasonal variations in brain functions. This work used fMRI data from the Human Connectome Project (HCP) to quantify seasonal patterns of brain connectivity. Knowledge of seasonality effects in brain activity offers the potential of advancing our understanding of seasonal variations in human behavior.

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Chunxiang Jiang^1,2,3, Alun Metcalf¹, Jack Briggs¹, Lijuan Zhang^2,3, and Chen Song^1
1Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom, ²Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China, ³University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI

Visual experience is highly spatial. Much of what we perceive, we perceive in space. However, the spatial structure of visual experience is often taken for granted and its neural mechanism is rarely studied. Here we tested a novel theoretical framework that proposes lateral connections in primary visual cortex as the neural basis underlying the spatial structure of visual experience. We found that the inhomogeneity in spatial localization ability across visual field correlated with the variability in lateral connection length across primary visual cortex, suggesting a mapping between the topography of visual cortical connectivity and the spatial structure of visual perception.

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Alexander D. Cohen¹, Benjamin L. Brett², Milan D. Patel¹, Kelly D. Ristow¹, Michael A. McCrea², and Yang Wang^1
1Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States, ²Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Traumatic brain injury, Functional connectivity density

Repetitive head impact exposure (RHIE) during contact sports (CS) might have potentially long-term neurological effects. We evaluated the effect of sport, time, and their interaction on local and global functional connectivity density (FCD) as measured using an advanced multiband multi-echo EPI sequence in CS and non-contact sport (NCS) middle school and high school athletes. Significant effects of sport and the interaction between sport and time on both local and global FCD were detected, which might suggest functional connections alterations due to contact sport participation.

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Yurui Gao^1,2, Yu Zhao^2,3, Muwei Li^2,3, Dylan R Lawless^2,4, Kurt G Schilling³, Lyuan Xu^2,4, Andrea T Shafer⁵, Lori L Beason-Held⁵, Susan M Resnick⁵, Baxter P Rogers^2,3, Zhaohua Ding^2,4, Adam W Anderson^1,2, Bennett A Landman^1,2,3,4, and John C Gore^1,2,3
1Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ²VUIIS, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States, ³Radiology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States, ⁴Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ⁵Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Aging

Resting state BOLD signals in white matter (WM) bundles have been found to be partially synchronized with signals in gray matter (GM) volumes, suggesting WM-GM functional connectivity (FC). However, little is known about whether or how these relationships change during normal aging, and traditional graph models are inappropriate. We introduced a novel graph model and applied it to assess WM-GM network properties in 1,462 healthy subjects (22–96years) and their age effects. Results show heterogenous alterations in WM-GM rsFC over adulthood with decreases mainly during late adulthood. Our results demonstrate there is substantial reorganization of WM-GM correlations during normal aging.

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Stephen Jones¹, Ajay Nemani¹, Xuemei Huang¹, and Mark Lowe^1
1Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Brain Connectivity

We present data from a series of resting-state data obtained at 7T using 1 mm isotropic resolution in separate concatenated groups of right handed (RH) and left handed (LH) normal control subjects. Whole brain connectivity maps are obtained from a large number of different seed parcels, many derived from FreeSurfer. We demonstrate the ability of this unique data to recapitulate known connectivity maps at the large scale and discern new findings at small scales.

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Frederick Andrew Bagdasarian¹, Hanne Hansen^1,2, Chi-Hyeon Yoo¹, Michael Placzek¹, Jacob Hooker¹, and Hsiao-Ying Wey^1
1Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, United States, ²Neurobiology Research Unit, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Netherlands

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI (resting state)

This work utilized fMRI to assess the influence of the psychedelics, Psilocybin, a serotonergic agonist, and Salvinorin-A, a kappa-opioid receptor (KOR) agonist, on functional connectivity (FC) in non-human primates. We used a seed-based FC analysis, probing regions of interest associated with psychedelic hallucinogens. Our findings highlight the overlapping and differing influence of these substances on FC relative to the subcomponents of the default mode network and the claustrum. This work may provide insight on the mechanisms of action of psychedelics that target differing receptor systems.

Key Words: Functional connectivity; Claustrum; DMN; Psychedelics.

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Daehun Kang¹, Koji Uchida², Clifton Haider³, Erin Gray¹, Myung-Ho In¹, Joshua Trzasko¹, Norbert Campeau¹, Kirk Welker¹, Jeffrey Gunter¹, Yunhong Shu¹, Matt A Bernstein¹, Max Trenerry⁴, David III Holmes³, Michael Joyner², Timothy Curry², and John III Huston ^1
1Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States, ²Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States, ³Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States, ⁴Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI, Hypoxia

Acute exposure to a severely low oxygen environment (<10%) can cause temporary deterioration of cognitive performance. To better understand the mechanism of the hypoxic-related temporary cognitive impairment in the human brain, we examined functional connectivity changes in brain networks during acute severe hypoxia while subjects performed a cognitive task. The acute severe hypoxic environment temporarily increases functional connectivity among salience (SN), default mode (DMN), executive central (ECN), sensorimotor, and visuospatial networks. We observed that increased connectivity of SN to DMN and to ECN during acute severe hypoxia is related with the behavioral cognitive deterioration.

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Vasishta Polisetty¹, S Senthil Kumaran², Priyanka Bhat³, Pankaj .², Anju Dhawan¹, and Sonali Jhanjhee^1
1Dept of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, New Delhi, India, ²Dept of NMR, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, New Delhi, India, ³Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, New Delhi, India

Keywords: Psychiatric Disorders, Brain Connectivity, Addiction

Tobacco is a leading cause of preventable cancer and death and is consumed in various forms. There is a paucity of literature regarding cue-induced craving in smokeless tobacco, commonly found in the South East Asian Region. This study aimed to investigate the functional connectivity in a ‘primed’ state after cue-induced craving. We found facilitatory connectivity within salience network (SN) and inhibitory connectivity between default mode network (DMN) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in smokeless tobacco users. 

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Xiaoyu Niu¹, Xinyu Gao¹, Mengzhe Zhang¹, and Yong Zhang^1
1Department of MRI, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Brain, chronic smokers, amplitude of low frequency fluctuations, resting state functional connectivity, functional magnetic resonance imaging

     We combined two methods of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to explore the abnormal neural activity in male chronic smokers. The amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) was first calculated and brain regions with significant differences in ALFF between two groups were used as seeds for further resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) analysis. Our findings revealed increased spontaneous regional activity in the superior frontal gyrus (SFG) with reduced functional connectivity to visual attention areas and cerebellar subregions in smokers compared with controls, which may play an important role in the pathophysiology of smoking.

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Quentin Dessain¹, Laurence Dricot², Nicolas Delinte¹, Manon Daussort¹, Benoit Macq¹, Phillipe de Timary², and Ron Kupers^2
1Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain La Neuve, Belgium, ²Institute Of NeuroScience, Université Catholique de Louvain, Bruxelles, Belgium

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Brain

We used rsfMRI and diffusion imaging to study functional and structural brain changes underlying the psychological trait mood repair in long-term meditators. Results of connectome-based predictive modeling showed that measured “mood repair” scores in meditators could be successfully predicted from rsfMRI data during meditation. The highest degree node in the underlying network was in the anterior ventral insula. Diffusion imaging data further revealed a role of the uncinate fasciculus in the mood repair trait in meditators. The uncinate fasciculus is part of the limbic network, connecting anterior temporal lobe with the inferior prefrontal cortex.

Ziliang Xu¹, Minwen Zheng¹, and Yuanqiang Zhu^1
1Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI (resting state)

As we known, consequences caused by Sleep deprivation (SD) are temporary and can be fully reversed with sufficient sleep. However, in many cases, long-duration recovery sleep is not feasible. Inspire by recent study, a short nap may be sufficient for rapid reversal of SD-induced brain function deficits. Based on dynamic functional connectivity and psychomotor vigilance task, our results showed that temporary cognitive impairment cause by SD could reversed to some extent by a nap. Additionally, dominant DFC states differed before and after SD, and their relative proportions affected the degree of cognitive impairment after SD and recovery after a nap.

Ziliang Xu¹, Minwen Zheng¹, and Yuanqiang Zhu^1
1Department of Radiology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI (task based)

Sleep deprivation (SD) can cause task performance and negative correlation strength between default mode (DM) and task related network decreasing, but the detailed mechanism is still unclear. Intra-individual variance (IIV) is thought to associated with the negative correlation strength between DM and task active network. Thus, in this study, IIV was used to evaluate the relationship between the changing of this negative correlation strength and the task performance after SD. Results showed that SD may increase the healthy subjects’ IIV through reducing the competition relationship between DM and task active network, which resulted in the temporal impairments of cognitive function.

Jiyuan Li¹, Yunlong Yue¹, Yunlong Song², and Yanfang Jin^1
1Department of MRI, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China, ²Department of CT and MRI, The General Hospital of the Air Force People’s Liberation Army, Beijing, China

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI (resting state)

36 hours sleep deprivation produces a significant deficit in vmPFC functional connectivity and default mode networks (DMN), along with the enhanced functional link between vmPFC and executive control networks (ECN). Furthermore, the negative correlation between vmPFC-DMN and vmPFC-ECN coupling during RW were diminished after TSD. We also find that TSD induced the significantly negative correlation between vmPFC-ECN networks and risk-taking behavior. These results demonstrate that an absence of sleep substantially impaired the balance of large scale brain networks and which in turn predicts risk-taking behavior following 36 hours of TSD.

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Yi-Chia Kung^1,2,3, Shou Chen⁴, Fan-Chi Hsiao⁵, Wei-Chou Chang^1,3, Changwei Wesley Wu^6,7, and Ching-Po Lin^2
1Department of Radiology, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ²Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan, ³National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ⁴McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada, ⁵Department of Counseling and Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Ming Chuan University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, ⁶Graduate Institute of Mind, Brain and Consciousness, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, ⁷Brain and Consciousness Research Center, Taipei Medical University-Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei, Taiwan

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI (task based)

Sleep inertia (SI) occurs during the transition from sleep to waking, accompanied by temporary hypoalertness and decreased tonic alertness around half an hour. We used the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) to detect the dynamic alteration of tonic alertness during SI by monitoring the Cingulo-opercular network activity through simultaneous EEG-fMRI scanning. The alteration was greater when comparing the Pre PVT session to early wakefulness than to the late wakefulness, and was easily detectable under the task demands. A dynamic of tonic alertness could be observed during SI under the demands of the task.

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Mathias Lysholt Mathiasen¹, Sascha Gude¹, Henrik Lundell¹, Hartwig Roman Siebner^1,2,3, and Nathalie Just^1
1DRCMR, Copenhagen University Hospital Amager and Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark, ²Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark, ³Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI (resting state), Chemogenetics

Genetic and viral tools coupled with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques provide unique opportunities to investigate the functional neural networks in the rodent brain. Chemogenetic tools can be used to selectively activate or inhibit specific neural populations and their projections, and in combination with fMRI, can reveal the underlying mechanisms of brain activity. We present early resting-state and pharmacological fMRI results regarding CNO-mediated activation of the hM3Dq DREADD in the motor cortex of rats.

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Thajunnisa Ashraf Sajitha¹, Russell W Chan¹, Patryk Filipiak², Muneeb Faiq¹, Royce P Lee¹, Steven H Baete², and Kevin C Chan^1,3,4
1Department of Ophthalmology, NYU Langone Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA 10017, New York, NY, United States, ²Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research (CAI2R), Department of Radiology, NYU Langone Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA 10017, New York, NY, United States, ³Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA 10017, New York, NY, United States, ⁴Center for Neural Science, NYU College of Arts and Sciences, New York, NY, 10003, New York, NY, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI (task based)

Recent studies have mapped the whole-brain cholinergic projections in the mouse brain. However, their functional relevance remains unclear. In this study, we used optogenetic functional MRI to observe the functional brain responses upon stimulating the cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain. We observed significant BOLD percentage change in 14 out of 19 brain regions evaluated, indicating their functional relevance to the cholinergic system.

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Pierre Nedelec¹, Samuel Lashof-Regas¹, Leo Sugrue¹, and Andreas Rauschecker^1
1Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Adolescents

Across a demographically diverse sample of over 7000 US adolescents, the relationship between white matter tracts and reading skills was evaluated using automated tractometry. Fractional Anisotropy (FA) values within several white matter tracts demonstrated strong positive associations with reading ability. Higher FA values were associated with higher reading scores, as assessed by the NIH Toolbox Oral Reading Recognition Test (TORRT). These relationships persisted even after correction for several potential confounding variables.

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Nan-Hao Chen^1,2, Li-Ping Chen³, Chia-Wei Hsu³, Chin-Hua Yang^1,3,4, and Hsu-Hsia Peng^1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ²Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Nanomedicine, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan, ³Department of Medical Imaging, National Taiwan University Hospital Hsinchu Branch, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ⁴Department of Radiology, Taoyuan General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Aging, Myelin co-variation network

        Myelin co-variation networks was used to investigate the myelinic alteration in brain degradation. However, a systematic investigation of age-related co-variation networks of multiple myelin-related images remains deficient. We aimed to investigate the age-related effect on myelin co-variation networks in gray matter and white matter. Our results revealed that different myelin-related indices presented different age-dependent evolution of co-variation networks. The age-dependencies of strength of co-variation and topological attributes were mostly in complex polynomial pattern. The investigation of multiple age-related myelin co-variation networks might comprehend the synchronous changes between brain regions and demonstrated its usefulness in predicting the alteration of myelinic tissue. 

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Fulvia Palesi¹, Letizia Casiraghi², Giovanni Savini³, Sonia Paternò¹, Egidio D'Angelo^1,4, and Claudia AM Gandini Wheeler-Kingshott^1,4,5
1Dept. Brain and Behavioural Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy, ²Dept. Mental Health and Dependence, ASST of Pavia, Pavia, Italy, ³Dept. Neuroradiology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy, ⁴Brain Connectivity Center, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Pavia, Italy, ⁵NMR Research Unit, Department of Neuroinflammation, Queen Square Multiple Sclerosis Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London (UCL), London, United Kingdom

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Tractography & Fibre Modelling, Action execution observation network

Inter-individual interaction is  at the basis of social life making it crucial to characterize the functional networks subtending action execution (AE) and action observation (AO). We investigated the integrative properties of previously defined AE and AO functional networks in relation to force perception in terms of their underlying structural brain connectivity. We found that both networks show a strong connectivity between areas involved in sensory/force perception and in motor planning. The cerebellum was engaged both in executing the force-related task and in simulating motor responses, supporting the existence of specific brain networks involving the cerebellum in mirroring and mentalizing mechanisms.