1.Temporal Unfolding of Racial Ingroup Bias in Neural Responses to Perceived Dynamic Pain in Others.
Chenyu PANG ; Yuqing ZHOU ; Shihui HAN
Neuroscience Bulletin 2024;40(2):157-170
In this study, we investigated how empathic neural responses unfold over time in different empathy networks when viewing same-race and other-race individuals in dynamic painful conditions. We recorded magnetoencephalography signals from Chinese adults when viewing video clips showing a dynamic painful (or non-painful) stimulation to Asian and White models' faces to trigger painful (or neutral) expressions. We found that perceived dynamic pain in Asian models modulated neural activities in the visual cortex at 100 ms-200 ms, in the orbitofrontal and subgenual anterior cingulate cortices at 150 ms-200 ms, in the anterior cingulate cortex around 250 ms-350 ms, and in the temporoparietal junction and middle temporal gyrus around 600 ms after video onset. Perceived dynamic pain in White models modulated activities in the visual, anterior cingulate, and primary sensory cortices after 500 ms. Our findings unraveled earlier dynamic activities in multiple neural circuits in response to same-race (vs other-race) individuals in dynamic painful situations.
Adult
;
Humans
;
Brain Mapping
;
Pain
;
Empathy
;
Racism
;
Gyrus Cinguli/physiology*
;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
;
Brain/physiology*
2.Reshaping the Cortical Connectivity Gradient by Long-Term Cognitive Training During Development.
Tianyong XU ; Yunying WU ; Yi ZHANG ; Xi-Nian ZUO ; Feiyan CHEN ; Changsong ZHOU
Neuroscience Bulletin 2024;40(1):50-64
The organization of the brain follows a topological hierarchy that changes dynamically during development. However, it remains unknown whether and how cognitive training administered over multiple years during development can modify this hierarchical topology. By measuring the brain and behavior of school children who had carried out abacus-based mental calculation (AMC) training for five years (starting from 7 years to 12 years old) in pre-training and post-training, we revealed the reshaping effect of long-term AMC intervention during development on the brain hierarchical topology. We observed the development-induced emergence of the default network, AMC training-promoted shifting, and regional changes in cortical gradients. Moreover, the training-induced gradient changes were located in visual and somatomotor areas in association with the visuospatial/motor-imagery strategy. We found that gradient-based features can predict the math ability within groups. Our findings provide novel insights into the dynamic nature of network recruitment impacted by long-term cognitive training during development.
Child
;
Humans
;
Cognitive Training
;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
;
Brain
;
Brain Mapping
;
Motor Cortex
4.Improving children's cooperativeness during magnetic resonance imaging using interactive educational animated videos: a prospective, randomised, non-inferiority trial.
Evelyn Gabriela UTAMA ; Seyed Ehsan SAFFARI ; Phua Hwee TANG
Singapore medical journal 2024;65(1):9-15
INTRODUCTION:
A previous prospective, randomised controlled trial showed that animated videos shown to children before magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan reduced the proportion of children needing repeated MRI sequences and improved confidence of the children staying still for at least 30 min. Children preferred the interactive video. We hypothesised that the interactive video is non-inferior to showing two videos (regular and interactive) in improving children's cooperativeness during MRI scans.
METHODS:
In this Institutional Review Board-approved prospective, randomised, non-inferiority trial, 558 children aged 3-20 years scheduled for elective MRI scan from June 2017 to March 2019 were randomised into the interactive video only group and combined (regular and interactive) videos group. Children were shown the videos before their scan. Repeated MRI sequences, general anaesthesia (GA) requirement and improvement in confidence of staying still for at least 30 min were assessed.
RESULTS:
In the interactive video group ( n = 277), 86 (31.0%) children needed repeated MRI sequences, two (0.7%) needed GA and the proportion of children who had confidence in staying still for more than 30 min increased by 22.1% after the video. In the combined videos group ( n = 281), 102 (36.3%) children needed repeated MRI sequences, six (2.1%) needed GA and the proportion of children who had confidence in staying still for more than 30 min increased by 23.2% after the videos; the results were not significantly different between the two groups.
CONCLUSION
The interactive video group demonstrated non-inferiority to the combined videos group.
Child
;
Humans
;
Anesthesia, General
;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
;
Prospective Studies
;
Simulation Training
;
Child, Preschool
;
Adolescent
;
Young Adult
;
Video Recording
5.Is non-contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging cost-effective for screening of hepatocellular carcinoma?
Genevieve Jingwen TAN ; Chau Hung LEE ; Yan SUN ; Cher Heng TAN
Singapore medical journal 2024;65(1):23-29
INTRODUCTION:
Ultrasonography (US) is the current standard of care for imaging surveillance in patients at risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been explored as an alternative, given the higher sensitivity of MRI, although this comes at a higher cost. We performed a cost-effective analysis comparing US and dual-sequence non-contrast-enhanced MRI (NCEMRI) for HCC surveillance in the local setting.
METHODS:
Cost-effectiveness analysis of no surveillance, US surveillance and NCEMRI surveillance was performed using Markov modelling and microsimulation. At-risk patient cohort was simulated and followed up for 40 years to estimate the patients' disease status, direct medical costs and effectiveness. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio were calculated.
RESULTS:
Exactly 482,000 patients with an average age of 40 years were simulated and followed up for 40 years. The average total costs and QALYs for the three scenarios - no surveillance, US surveillance and NCEMRI surveillance - were SGD 1,193/7.460 QALYs, SGD 8,099/11.195 QALYs and SGD 9,720/11.366 QALYs, respectively.
CONCLUSION
Despite NCEMRI having a superior diagnostic accuracy, it is a less cost-effective strategy than US for HCC surveillance in the general at-risk population. Future local cost-effectiveness analyses should include stratifying surveillance methods with a variety of imaging techniques (US, NCEMRI, contrast-enhanced MRI) based on patients' risk profiles.
Humans
;
Adult
;
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/diagnostic imaging*
;
Liver Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging*
;
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
;
Cost-Benefit Analysis
;
Quality-Adjusted Life Years
;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods*
8.MRI-derived radiomics models for diagnosis, aggressiveness, and prognosis evaluation in prostate cancer.
Xuehua ZHU ; Lizhi SHAO ; Zhenyu LIU ; Zenan LIU ; Jide HE ; Jiangang LIU ; Hao PING ; Jian LU
Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B 2023;24(8):663-681
Prostate cancer (PCa) is a pernicious tumor with high heterogeneity, which creates a conundrum for making a precise diagnosis and choosing an optimal treatment approach. Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) with anatomical and functional sequences has evolved as a routine and significant paradigm for the detection and characterization of PCa. Moreover, using radiomics to extract quantitative data has emerged as a promising field due to the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and image data processing. Radiomics acquires novel imaging biomarkers by extracting imaging signatures and establishes models for precise evaluation. Radiomics models provide a reliable and noninvasive alternative to aid in precision medicine, demonstrating advantages over traditional models based on clinicopathological parameters. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of related studies of radiomics in PCa, specifically around the development and validation of radiomics models using MRI-derived image features. The current landscape of the literature, focusing mainly on PCa detection, aggressiveness, and prognosis evaluation, is reviewed and summarized. Rather than studies that exclusively focus on image biomarker identification and method optimization, models with high potential for universal clinical implementation are identified. Furthermore, we delve deeper into the critical concerns that can be addressed by different models and the obstacles that may arise in a clinical scenario. This review will encourage researchers to design models based on actual clinical needs, as well as assist urologists in gaining a better understanding of the promising results yielded by radiomics.
Male
;
Humans
;
Artificial Intelligence
;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods*
;
Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging*
;
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods*
;
Precision Medicine
;
Retrospective Studies
9.Discovery of the mechanisms of acupuncture in the treatment of migraine based on functional magnetic resonance imaging and omics.
Chong LI ; Xinyi LI ; Ke HE ; Yang WU ; Xiaoming XIE ; Jiju YANG ; Fan ZHANG ; Yang YUE ; Huifeng HAO ; Shaokun ZHAO ; Xin LI ; Guihua TIAN
Frontiers of Medicine 2023;17(5):993-1005
Migraine is one of the most prevalent and disabling neurological disease, but the current pharmacotherapies show limited efficacy and often accompanied by adverse effects. Acupuncture is a promising complementary therapy, but further clinical evidence is needed. The influence of acupuncture on migraine is not an immediate effect, and its mechanism remains unclear. This study aims to provide further clinical evidence for the anti-migraine effects of acupuncture and explore the mechanism involved. A randomized controlled trial was performed among 10 normal controls and 38 migraineurs. The migraineurs were divided into blank control, sham acupuncture, and acupuncture groups. Patients were subjected to two courses of treatment, and each treatment lasted for 5 days, with an interval of 1 day between the two courses. The effectiveness of treatment was evaluated using pain questionnaire. The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were analyzed for investigating brain changes induced by treatments. Blood plasma was collected for metabolomics and proteomics studies. Correlation and mediation analyses were performed to investigate the interaction between clinical, fMRI and omics changes. Results showed that acupuncture effectively relieved migraine symptoms in a way different from sham acupuncture in terms of curative effect, affected brain regions, and signaling pathways. The anti-migraine mechanism involves a complex network related to the regulation of the response to hypoxic stress, reversal of brain energy imbalance, and regulation of inflammation. The brain regions of migraineurs affected by acupuncture include the lingual gyrus, default mode network, and cerebellum. The effect of acupuncture on patients' metabolites/proteins may precede that of the brain.
Humans
;
Migraine Disorders/etiology*
;
Brain/diagnostic imaging*
;
Acupuncture Therapy/methods*
;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
10.Prognostic significance of T2 mapping in evaluating myocardium alterations in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction.
Qian CUI ; Qiang HE ; Xihong GE ; Guangfeng GAO ; Yang LIU ; Jing YU ; Hongle WANG ; Wen SHEN
Chinese Critical Care Medicine 2023;35(12):1304-1308
OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the value of T2 mapping in the assessment of myocardial changes and prognosis in patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).
METHODS:
A retrospective study was conducted. A total of 30 patients with acute STEMI admitted to Tianjin First Central Hospital from January 2021 to March 2022 were enrolled as the experimental group. At the same time, 30 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers and outpatients with non-specific chest pain with no abnormalities in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) examination were selected as the control group. CMR was performed within 2 weeks after the diagnosis of STEMI, as the initial reference. A plain CMR review was performed 6 months later (chronic myocardial infarction, CMI). Plain scanning includes film sequence (CINE), T2 weighted short tau inversion recovery (T2-STIR), native-T1 mapping, and T2 mapping. Enhanced scanning includes first-pass perfusion, late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), and post-contrast T1 mapping. Quantitative myocardial parameters were compared between the two groups, before and after STEMI myocardial infarction. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of native-T1 before myocardial contrast enhancement and T2 values in differentiating STEMI and CMI after 6 months.
RESULTS:
There were no statistically significant differences in age, gender, heart rate and body mass index (BMI) between the two groups, which were comparable. The native-T1 value, T2 value and extracellular volume (ECV) were significantly higher than those in the control group [native-T1 value (ms): 1 434.5±165.3 vs. 1 237.0±102.5, T2 value (ms): 48.3±15.6 vs. 21.8±13.1, ECV: (39.6±13.8)% vs. (22.8±5.0)%, all P < 0.05]. In the experimental group, 12 patients were re-examined by plain CMR scan 6 months later. After 6 months, the high signal intensity on T2-STIR was still visible, but the range was smaller than that in the acute phase, and the native-T1 and T2 values were significantly lower than those in the acute phase [native-T1 value (ms): 1 271.0±26.9 vs. 1 434.5±165.3, T2 value (ms): 34.2±11.2 vs. 48.3±15.6, both P < 0.05]. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of native-T1 and T2 values in differentiating acute STEMI from CMI was 0.71 and 0.80, respectively. When native-T1 cut-off value was 1 316.0 ms, the specificity was 100% and the sensitivity was 53.3%; when T2 cut-off value was 46.7 ms, the specificity was 100% and the sensitivity was 73.8%.
CONCLUSIONS
The T2 mapping is a non-invasive method for the diagnosis of myocardial changes in patients with acute STEMI myocardial infarction, and can be used to to evaluate the clinical prognosis of patients.
Humans
;
ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction/diagnosis*
;
Contrast Media
;
Prognosis
;
Retrospective Studies
;
Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine/methods*
;
Gadolinium
;
Myocardium/pathology*
;
Myocardial Infarction
;
Predictive Value of Tests

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