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Elisa Zamboni^1,2, Isaac Watson^2,3, Sharyfah Alasiri^2,4, Elizabeth Fear^2,5, Elia Formisano^6,7, Rainer Goebel^7,8, Rüdiger Stirnberg⁹, Laurentius Huber^6,7, Aneurin Kennerley^2,10, and Antony Morland^1,2,11
1Psychology, University of York, York, United Kingdom, ²York Neuroimaging Centre, University of York, York, United Kingdom, ³School of Physics, Engineering, and Technology, University of York, York, United Kingdom, ⁴University of York, York, United Kingdom, ⁵Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy, ⁶Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands, ⁷Maastricht Brain Imaging Centre, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands, ⁸Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht Univeristy, Maastricht, Netherlands, ⁹German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DNZE), Bonn, Germany, ¹⁰Institute of Sport, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom, ¹¹York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, United Kingdom

Keywords: Gray Matter, fMRI (task based), VASO

The intermediate processing steps in human vision are not well characterised. We show however that the high specificity of VASO fMRI permits investigation functional organisation of curvature responses in human visual area V4, which is an intermediate region in the visual system. Understanding how the functional architecture and hierarchical integration of local contours (curvature) contributes to formation of shapes can inform computational models of object recognition. The emergence of inter-individual differences in these organisations can explain individual differences in healthy and impaired visual perception.

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Tamir Eisenstein¹, Edna Furman-Haran², and Assaf Tal^1
1Department of Chemical and Biological Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, ²Life Sciences Core Facilities, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Spectroscopy, learning and plasticity

Here, we show, using ultra-high field MRS and functional and structural MRI, how changes in glutamate and GABA in the human motor cortex following motor skill learning may play key roles in promoting motor memory consolidation and neuroplasticity. Increased glutamate after learning was associated with overnight skill performance improvements, and increased functional connectivity of M1 with the striatum, suggesting for functional plasticity. Greater reduction in GABA following learning was associated with increased grey matter volume in M1 overnight, suggesting for structural plasticity. We therefore highlight the importance of these neurochemical modifications in promoting learning and plasticity in the human brain.

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Zongpai Zhang¹, Shichun Chen¹, Yanchen Guo¹, Yakun Zhang¹, Lissa Riley², Adam K. Anderson², and Eve DeRosa^2
1State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, United States, ²Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Aging

The effect sizes of aging in hippocampus (HPC) resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) using dASL and multi-echo BOLD (ME-BOLD) imaging were evaluated in 20 subjects (10 young adults, 10 older adults). Both dASL and ME-BOLD showed reduced HPC rsFC in older adults but with larger extended region in dASL results. dASL demonstrated significantly higher effect sizes of aging in HPC rsFC compared to ME-BOLD, supporting more sensitivity of dASL in detecting the aging effect in HPC rsFC.

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Sichen Ludwig Zhao^1,2, Clara U Raithel^2,3, Jay A Gottfried^2,3, John A Detre², and M Dylan Tisdall^4
1Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ²Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ³Department of Psychology, School of Arts and Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, ⁴Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI, Multi-echo EPI

The human olfactory network presents technical challenges for functional MRI due to its location in regions of high static susceptibility. We developed a novel multi-echo EPI (ME-EPI) protocol, optimized for olfactory regions, and compared this protocol to a conventional single-echo EPI (1E-EPI). We show that the optimized ME-EPI increases sensitivity to BOLD activation response for olfactory regions and reduces the numbers of subjects required to detect significant group effects.

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Jonathan Scharff Nielsen¹ and Manisha Aggarwal^1
1Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Tractography & Fibre Modelling, Hippocampus internal circuitry; probabilistic tractography.

The endfolial pathway is a collection of fibers within the hilus of the human hippocampus that forms part of the complex intra-hippocampal circuitry. We investigate this pathway using high-field (11.7 T), high spatio-angular resolution diffusion MRI (dMRI) of 3 intact, excised hippocampi. Using probabilistic tractography and computational unfolding of the hippocampal strata, we demonstrate a unique sensitivity of dMRI to the 3D trajectory of the intra-hippocampal fibers.

Keywords: Ex vivo high spatio-angular resolution diffusion MRI; hippocampus internal circuitry; probabilistic tractography.

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Zuozhen Cao¹, Zhiyong Zhao¹, Qinfeng Zhu¹, Keqing Zhu², Jing Zhang³, and Dan Wu^1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, HangZhou, China, ²China Brain Bank and Department of Neurology in Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, HangZhou, China, ³Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital and School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, HangZhou, China

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Diffusion/other diffusion imaging techniques, Ex-vivo, hippocampus, structure connectivity

Hippocampus is a critical brain structure associated with many brain functions. The connectivity between hippocampal sub-regions and cerebral cortex hasn’t been fully characterized, and spatial resolution is the key to resolve such connectivity. We utilized 3D high-resolution ex vivo diffusion MRI (dMRI) at 7T to investigate the structure connectivity between hippocampal sub-regions and cortex and compared the results with in vivo data. We found that different sub-regions demonstrated unique fiber projections to cortex, and the high-resolution ex-vivo dMRI resulted in more connections with temporal-occipital lobe and less connections to central gyrus and frontal lobe, compared to lower-resolution in vivo dMRI.

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Pierre Nedelec¹, Samuel Lashof-Regas¹, Andreas Rauschecker¹, and Leo Sugrue^1
1Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Adolescents

The best method for automatically producing replicable white matter (WM) tracts from diffusion imaging is not known. We use Automated Fiber Quantification (AFQ) to compare probabilistic and deterministic models’ performance generating 18 WM tracts for each of 1000 adolescents at baseline and 2-year follow up.  We gauged performance on the correlation between fractional anisotropy (FA) values and degree of volumetric overlap (DICE score). Based on these measures we found that a probabilistic approach was able to more reliably generate tract profiles over time within individual subjects.

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Majd Alkhalily¹, Laura Currey², Michael Piper², and Nyoman D Kurniawan^1
1Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, ²The School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Diffusion/other diffusion imaging techniques, Tractography

Several pipelines are available to quantify mouse brain connectome using diffusion-tractography. However, data acquisition and processing methods used a wide range of parameters. In this study, ex-vivo adult mouse brains were scanned using a range of b values, and spatial and angular resolutions at 16.4 T. iFOD2 were used for fibertracking to generate the connectomes. Network analysis revealed increased nodal degree and reduced connectivity at 75 μm and this change increases at higher b value. Comparison with Allen mouse brain atlas showed consistent connectome profiles were achieved by acquiring diffusion with b=5000 s/mm² at 100 μm resolution and 30 directions.

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Thi Ngoc Anh Dinh¹ and Seong-Gi Kim^1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Suwon 16419, South Korea, Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon 16419, South Korea, Suwon, Korea, Republic of

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI (task based)

Multisensory integration is necessary for the animal to survive in the real world. Multiple studies with conventional methods established the multisensory integration process in multiple brain areas. This study aimed to investigate interactions between visual and somatosensory networks in a whole brain scale using 15.2T BOLD fMRI with the assistance of cortical silencing by optogenetic stimulation.Keywords: ultrahigh field fMRI, optogenetics, multimodal integration.

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Anirban Sengupta¹, Daniela Hernandez Duque¹, Arabinda Mishra¹, Jamie L Reed¹, Pai-Feng Yang¹, Feng Wang¹, Zhangyan Yang¹, Li Min Chen², and John C Gore^1
1Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States, ²Vanderbilt University Medical Center, NASHVILLE, TN, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Brain, Thalamus lesion

Resting state fMRI was used to assess whole brain functional networks before and after a targeted, unilateral lesion in the hand and arm representation of the ventroposterior lateral nucleus of the thalamus of squirrel monkeys. Using Independent Component Analysis, the overall whole brain resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) dropped after injury but slowly recovered. The trajectory of network changes corresponded well with quantitative metrics of animal performance on a behavioral task using the affected hand. Some functional networks showed reductions in connectivity post injury followed by recoveries while others reflected compensatory increases that began in the first week after injury.

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Tan Thanh Vo^1,2,3, Geun Ho Im³, Patrick J Drew⁴, and Seong-Gi Kim^1,2,3
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea, Suwon, Korea, Republic of, ²Department of Intelligent Precision Healthcare Convergence, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Korea, Suwon, Korea, Republic of, ³Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research (CNIR), Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea, Suwon, Korea, Republic of, ⁴Center for Neural Engineering, Departments of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Neurosurgery, Biology, and Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA, University Park, PA, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI (task based)

Parvalbumin (PV) neurons are the largest population of cortical interneurons, thus their role in neurovascular coupling is highly important in interpreting fMRI data, especially optogenetic fMRI. However, PV-based hemodynamic response is not well-understood. Here, we observed the biphasic BOLD response with initial vasoconstriction and follow-up ultraslow vasodilation at the stimulation site by PV photostimulation, while negative BOLD was observed at the downstream output. CBV-fMRI revealed that vasoconstriction localizes at middle to deeper layers matching with the distribution of glutamatergic neurons, while vasodilation propagated from superficial layers driven by neuropeptide substance P signaling.

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Nanyin Zhang¹ and Wenyu Tu^1
1The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Animals, Respiration, Physiological impacts

Respiration can induce non-neural artifacts in the resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) signal. In the meantime, as a crucial physiologic process, respiration that can directly drive neural activity change, and may thereby modulate the rsfMRI signal. Nonetheless, this potential neural component in the respiration-fMRI relationship remains elusive. To elucidate this issue, we developed a platform to achieve a concurrent measure of electrophysiology, respiration, and whole brain rsfMRI signals, and identified a respiration-associated network that was underpinned by neural activity, which represents a novel component in the respiration-rsfMRI relationship that is distinct from respiration-related rsfMRI artifacts.

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Zilin Zhou¹, Lingxiao Cao¹, Yingxue Gao¹, Ruohan Feng², Yang Li³, Weijie Bao¹, Kaili Liang¹, Lihua Zhuo², Guoping Huang³, and Xiaoqi Huang^1,4
1Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, Chengdu, China, ²Department of Radiology, the Third Hospital of Mianyang, Sichuan Mental Health Center, Mianyang, China, Mianyang, China, ³Department of Psychiatry, the Third Hospital of Mianyang, Sichuan Mental Health Center, Mianyang, China, Mianyang, China, ⁴Psychoradiology Research Unit of the Chinese Academy of Medical Science , West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China, Chengdu, China

Keywords: Psychiatric Disorders, Adolescents, major depressive disorder

Using a data-driven connectivity-based parcellation technique, we identified anterior and posterior functional subdivisions of insula per hemisphere in adolescent population based on their similar functional connectivity profiles. Then, we investigated the distinct functional connectivity of each insular subregion between depressive adolescents and typical developmental controls. The significant unbalanced connectivity of insular subregions with left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) between two groups was revealed, which associated with interpersonal relation, emotional expressiveness, and cognition impairments in depressive adolescents. Our findings indicate that abnormalities in functional architectures of insular subdivisions may be the potential neuroimaging mechanism underlie the specific manifestations in adolescent depression.

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Chengmin Yang¹, Wenjing Zhang¹, Jiajun Liu², Zhipeng Yang², and Su Lui^1
1Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and molecular imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Radiology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China., Chengdu, China, ²College of Electronic Engineering, Chengdu University of Information Technology, Chengdu, P.R. China., Chengdu, China

Keywords: Psychiatric Disorders, Gradients

By characterizing the connectome gradient changes of subcortex and cortex in drug-naive first-episode schizophrenia and the treatment effect after antipsychotics, we found that the distinct fundamental functional segregation of subcortex and functional integration in cortex in patients at baseline when compared to healthy controls, and the longitudinal analyses indicated that the treatment would normalize the altered gradients. The improved subcortical gradient changes were associated with significant improvement of symptoms. This study provided the new perspective on the abnormal subcortical and cortical hierarchy organization in schizophrenia and its longitudinal subcortical gradient changes could be sensitive to reflect the antipsychotic treatment effect.

Song'an Shang¹, Weiqiang Dou², and Ye Jing^1
1Clinical Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China, ²GE Healthcare, MR Research China, Beijing, China

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is not solely a disruption of motor-related networks but a consequence of impaired high-level cognitive processes, indicating that high-order information exchange in cognitively preserved patients with PD could be sensitively revealed in the high-order-functional connection (HOFC) networks. We thus attempted to characterize the topological alterations and classification performance of HOFC networks in normally cognitive patients with PD. Our findings identified the disrupted topology of functional interactions at high-level with extensive alterations of topological properties and improved differentiating ability in patients with PD prior to clinical symptoms of cognitive impairment, providing complementary insights into complex neurodegeneration in PD.

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Kavita Singh¹, Maria Guadalupe Garcia Gomar^1,2, Ambra Stefani³, Aleks Videnovic³, and Marta Bianciardi^1,4
1Brainstem Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, ²Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Juriquilla, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, Mexico, ³Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, ⁴Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard University,, Boston, MA, United States

Keywords: Parkinson's Disease, fMRI (resting state), 7 Tesla MRI, REM sleep behavior disorder, prodromal PD, alpha synucleopathies, brainstem

Based on animal and human lesion studies, isolated rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is due to changes in arousal/motor brainstem nuclei structure and function and is recognized as the hallmark of Parkinson disease (PD). Resting-state fMRI studies in iRBD in humans mostly studied changes in nigrostriatal/nigrocortical connectivity pathway but failed to assess the brainstem circuits involved. To fill this gap, we investigated the functional connectivity of 20 brainstem nuclei relevant for iRBD using high-sensitivity and high spatial-resolution 7 Tesla resting-state fMRI, as well as a recently developed in-vivo probabilistic atlas of brainstem nuclei.

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Lucas E Sainburg¹, Baxter P Rogers², Catie Chang³, Dario J Englot⁴, and Victoria L Morgan^2
1Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ²Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States, ³Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States, ⁴Neurological Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Epilepsy

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) presents with transient epileptic activity at rest, typically originating from the hippocampus. Here we measure dynamic functional connectivity (FC) at single functional MRI timepoints with edge timeseries to detect recurring hippocampal co-fluctuation patterns and their alterations in TLE. Three anterior hippocampus co-fluctuation patterns were detected in healthy controls. One pattern was altered in TLE, while another pattern was more frequent in TLE than controls. These changes reflect alterations in dynamic spatial patterns of FC from the epileptic focus in TLE.

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Paola Valsasina¹, Giulia d'Amore^1,2, Paolo Preziosa^1,2,3, Monica Margoni^1,2, Massimo Filippi^1,2,3,4,5, and Maria Assunta Rocca^1,2,3
1Neuroimaging Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy, ²Neurology Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy, ³Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy, ⁴Neurorehabilitation Unit, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy, ⁵Neurophysiology Service, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, Multiple Sclerosis

Here, we investigated changes in time-varying functional connectivity over 2.5 years of follow-up in 129 multiple sclerosis patients and their association with disability progression. At follow-up, 25/129 (19.3%) patients worsened clinically. At baseline, multiple sclerosis patients showed reduced time-varying functional connectivity vs controls in orbitofrontal, cerebellar, precuneal and thalamic regions. At 2.5-year follow-up, patients exhibited widespread reduction of time-varying functional connectivity over time. Such a pattern was confirmed when looking at clinically stable patients. Conversely, clinically worsened patients presented peculiar reductions of time-varying functional connectivity in default-mode network areas and in basal ganglia, this latter significant at time-by-group interaction analysis.

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Jianyu Yuan¹, Chaogang Tang², Lei Zhang², and Yi He^1
1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biomedical Imaging and Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center of Molecular Imaging, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China, ²Department of Cerebrovascular Disease, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI (resting state)

High-resolution resting-state (rs) fMRI enables the functional mapping of vein-dominated connectivity, correlated with neuronal calcium signals. Here, we performed high-resolution rs-fMRI to examine 30 ischemic stroke patients with binocular isotropic hemianopia and 10 healthy controls. The results of seed-based and independent component analysis (ICA) demonstrated the reduced vein-dominated correlation patterns. Interestingly, ICA also found increased correlations between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and ischemic lesions in stroke patients, showing ultra-slow oscillation frequencies up to 0.04 Hz. Our findings suggest that ischemic lesions are associated with CSF, prompting disruption of vein-dominated connectivity.

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Ahmed Radwan¹, Louise Emsell¹, Ronald Peeters², Tom Theys³, Patrick Dupont⁴, and Stefan Sunaert^1
1Department of Imaging and pathology, Translational MRI, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, ²Department of Radiology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, ³Department of Neurosciences, Research Group Experimental Neurosurgery and Neuroanatomy, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, ⁴Department of Neurosciences, Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Keywords: Brain Connectivity, fMRI (resting state), multi-echo fMRI, Neurosurgery

We compared multi-echo (mTE) resting-state (rs) fMRI to single-echo (sTE) fMRI for seed-based mapping of seven canonical resting state networks (RSN) in 69 pre-surgical patients. Acquisition parameters were identical except for TE and statistical analyses were constrained by group-specific RSN masks. mTE-rsfMRI showed significantly higher functional-connectivity (fc) for all RSNs, while sTE showed comparatively fewer RSNs with areas of significantly higher fc (PFWE<0.05). Our results suggest that mTE-rsfMRI may be more sensitive than sTE-rsfMRI for mapping of the sensory-motor, default mode, salience, frontoparietal, dorsal attention, language and visual networks in a neurosurgical setting.