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White matter cerebral blood flow is inversely correlated with structural and functional connectivity in the human brain.

ABSTRACT: White matter provides anatomic connections among brain regions and has received increasing attention in understanding brain intrinsic networks and neurological disorders. Despite significant progresses made in characterizing the white matter's structural properties using post-mortem techniques and in vivo diffusion-tensor-imaging (DTI) methods, its physiology remains poorly understood. In the present study, cerebral blood flow (CBF) of the white matter was investigated on a fiber tract-specific basis using MRI (n=10, 25-33 years old). It was found that CBF in the white matter varied considerably, up to a factor of two between fiber groups. Furthermore, a paradoxically inverse correlation was observed between white matter CBF and structural and functional connectivities (P<0.001). Fiber tracts that had a higher CBF tended to have a lower fractional anisotropy in water diffusion, and the gray matter terminals connected to the tract also tended to have a lower temporal synchrony in resting-state BOLD signal fluctuation. These findings suggest a clear association between white matter perfusion and gray matter activity, but the nature of this relationship requires further investigations given that they are negatively, rather than positively, correlated.

SUBMITTER: Aslan S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3085605 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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White matter cerebral blood flow is inversely correlated with structural and functional connectivity in the human brain.

Aslan Sina S Huang Hao H Uh Jinsoo J Mishra Virendra V Mishra Virendra V Xiao Guanghua G van Osch Matthias J P MJ Lu Hanzhang H

NeuroImage 20110306 3

White matter provides anatomic connections among brain regions and has received increasing attention in understanding brain intrinsic networks and neurological disorders. Despite significant progresses made in characterizing the white matter's structural properties using post-mortem techniques and in vivo diffusion-tensor-imaging (DTI) methods, its physiology remains poorly understood. In the present study, cerebral blood flow (CBF) of the white matter was investigated on a fiber tract-specific ...[more]

PMID: 21385618

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Project description:BackgroundPhenylketonuria (PKU) represents a congenital metabolic defect that disrupts the process of converting phenylalanine (Phe) into tyrosine. Earlier investigations have revealed diminished cognitive performance and changes in brain structure and function (including the presence of white matter lesions) among individuals affected by PKU. However, there exists limited understanding regarding cerebral blood flow (CBF) and its potential associations with cognition, white matter lesions, and metabolic parameters in patients with PKU, which we therefore aimed to investigate in this study.MethodArterial spin labeling perfusion MRI was performed to measure CBF in 30 adults with early-treated classical PKU (median age 35.5 years) and 59 healthy controls (median age 30.0 years). For all participants, brain Phe levels were measured with 1H spectroscopy, and white matter lesions were rated by two neuroradiologists on T2 weighted images. White matter integrity was examined with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). For patients only, concurrent plasma Phe levels were assessed after an overnight fasting period. Furthermore, past Phe levels were collected to estimate historical metabolic control. On the day of the MRI, each participant underwent a cognitive assessment measuring IQ and performance in executive functions, attention, and processing speed.ResultsNo significant group difference was observed in global CBF between patients and controls (F (1, 87) = 3.81, p = 0.054). Investigating CBF on the level of cerebral arterial territories, reduced CBF was observed in the left middle and posterior cerebral artery (MCA and PCA), with the most prominent reduction of CBF in the anterior subdivision of the MCA (F (1, 87) = 6.15, p = 0.015, surviving FDR correction). White matter lesions in patients were associated with cerebral blood flow reduction in the affected structure. Particularly, patients with lesions in the occipital lobe showed significant CBF reductions in the left PCA (U = 352, p = 0.013, surviving FDR correction). Additionally, axial diffusivity measured with DTI was positively associated with CBF in the ACA and PCA (surviving FDR correction). Cerebral blood flow did not correlate with cognitive performance or metabolic parameters.ConclusionThe relationship between cerebral blood flow and white matter indicates a complex interplay between vascular health and white matter alterations in patients with PKU. It highlights the importance of considering a multifactorial model when investigating the impact of PKU on the brain.

Project description:BackgroundCKD is associated with abnormalities in cerebral blood flow, cerebral neurochemical concentrations, and white matter integrity. Each of these is associated with adverse clinical consequences in the non-CKD population, which may explain the high prevalence of dementia and stroke in ESKD. Because cognition improves after kidney transplantation, comparing these brain abnormalities before and after kidney transplantation may identify potential reversibility in ESKD-associated brain abnormalities.MethodsIn this study of patients with ESKD and age-matched healthy controls, we used arterial spin labeling to assess the effects of kidney transplantation on cerebral blood flow and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging to measure cerebral neurochemical concentrations (N-acetylaspartate, choline, glutamate, glutamine, myo-inositol, and total creatine). We also assessed white matter integrity measured by fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) with diffusion tensor imaging. We used a linear mixed model analysis to compare longitudinal, repeated brain magnetic resonance imaging measurements before, 3 months after, and 12 months after transplantation and compared these findings with those of healthy controls.ResultsStudy participants included 29 patients with ESKD and 19 controls; 22 patients completed post-transplant magnetic resonance imaging. Cerebral blood flow, which was higher in patients pretransplant compared with controls (P=0.003), decreased post-transplant (P<0.001) to values in controls. Concentrations of neurochemicals choline and myo-inositol that were higher pretransplant compared with controls (P=0.001 and P<0.001, respectively) also normalized post-transplant (P<0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). FA increased (P=0.001) and MD decreased (P<0.001) post-transplant.ConclusionsCertain brain abnormalities in CKD are reversible and normalize with kidney transplantation. Further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms underlying these brain abnormalities and to explore interventions to mitigate them even in patients who cannot be transplanted.Clinical trial registry name and registration numberCognitive Impairment and Imaging Correlates in End Stage Renal Disease, NCT01883349.

Project description:BACKGROUND: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a term to describe the spectrum of disorders of impaired motor and sensory function caused by a brain lesion occurring early during development. Diffusion MRI and tractography have been shown to be useful in the study of white matter (WM) microstructure in tracts likely to be impacted by the static brain lesion. AIM: The purpose of this study was to identify WM pathways with altered connectivity in children with unilateral CP caused by periventricular white matter lesions using a whole-brain connectivity approach. METHODS: Data of 50 children with unilateral CP caused by periventricular white matter lesions (5-17 years; manual ability classification system [MACS] I = 25/II = 25) and 17 children with typical development (CTD; 7-16 years) were analysed. Structural and High Angular Resolution Diffusion weighted Images (HARDI; 64 directions, b = 3000 s/mm(2)) were acquired at 3 T. Connectomes were calculated using whole-brain probabilistic tractography in combination with structural parcellation of the cortex and subcortical structures. Connections with altered fractional anisotropy (FA) in children with unilateral CP compared to CTD were identified using network-based statistics (NBS). The relationship between FA and performance of the impaired hand in bimanual tasks (Assisting Hand Assessment-AHA) was assessed in connections that showed significant differences in FA compared to CTD. RESULTS: FA was reduced in children with unilateral CP compared to CTD. Seven pathways, including the corticospinal, thalamocortical, and fronto-parietal association pathways were identified simultaneously in children with left and right unilateral CP. There was a positive relationship between performance of the impaired hand in bimanual tasks and FA within the cortico-spinal and thalamo-cortical pathways (r(2) = 0.16-0.44; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study shows that network-based analysis of structural connectivity can identify alterations in FA in unilateral CP, and that these alterations in FA are related to clinical function. Application of this connectome-based analysis to investigate alterations in connectivity following treatment may elucidate the neurological correlates of improved functioning due to intervention.

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White matter cerebral blood flow is inversely correlated with structural and functional connectivity in the human brain.

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White matter cerebral blood flow is inversely correlated with structural and functional connectivity in the human brain.

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