OBJECTIVES: Obsessive-compulsive(OC) symptoms have yet to be directly studied in neurodegenerative conditions involving behavioral changes. To examine regional abnormalities in the brains of dementia patients with OC symptoms, we assessed the gray matter density using voxel-based morphometry(VBM). METHODS: We performed brain magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) with VBM analysis in 106 dementia patients with OC behaviors. In this study, OC behaviors were investigated in patients with neurodegenerative disease using the modified Manchester Behavior Questionnaire. RESULTS: The OC behavior scores were correlated with structural brain volume using VBM. The total OC symptom score correlated negatively with the volume of both putamens, the right middle orbitofrontal gyrus, both anterior cingulate cortices, and the left insula(p<0.001, uncorrected). No gray matter reductions were associated specifically with the OC symptom sub-categories. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that abnormalities in these brain regions may play an important role in the pathophysiology of OCD in neurodegenerative disease. This is the first lesion study to investigate the neural basis of OCD behaviors in neurodegenerative disease.
Brain ; Dementia ; Humans ; Neurodegenerative Diseases* ; Putamen ; Questionnaires

Hemichorea have been reported in patients with nonketotic hyperglycemia. Usually, hemichorea and hyperglycemia are concomitant. A 73-year-old woman was admitted for investigation of an acute hemichorea. T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging showed hyperintensity in the right putamen. Although she was a diabetic patient, she had no hyperglycemia. Interestingly, 4 weeks earlier, the patient was admitted due to nonketotic hyperglycemia. However, there were no hemichorea at that time. Although pathophysiologically controversial, a delayed hemichorea without nonketotic hyperglycemia should be considered as one of many different causes when evaluating acute hemichorea in diabetic patients.
Aged ; Brain ; Chorea ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Putamen

Transient memory impairment can be occurred by many causes. One of them is acute focal brain lesion in strategic site. Caudate nucleus and medial basal ganglia (globus pallidus) are lesion of strategic site. They play its role in cognitive processing. But lateral basal ganglia (putamen) is known as a structure involving movement, not cognitive function. We report a interesting case of transient memory dysfunction with acute focal putamen ICH with old caudate nucleus infarction.
Basal Ganglia ; Brain ; Caudate Nucleus ; Infarction ; Intracranial Hemorrhages ; Memory ; Putamen

OBJECTIVE: Auditory hallucinations (AHs) are a core symptom of schizophrenia. We investigated the neural signature of AHs by comparing hallucinating patients with schizophrenia with non-hallucinating patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: We recruited hallucinating patients with schizophrenia meeting the criteria for persistent, prominent, and predominant AHs (n=10) and non-hallucinating patients with schizophrenia (n=12). Various clinical assessments were performed incluing Psychotic Symptom Rating Scale for Auditory Hallucinations. Using fludeoxyglucose (¹⁸F) positron emission tomography, regional differences in neural activity between the groups were analyzed. RESULTS: The regions of interest analysis showed significantly lower standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) in the superior, middle, and inferior frontal gyri, and higher SUVR in the putamen in patients with AHs versus patients without AHs. These findings were confirmed in the voxel-wise analysis. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that hypoactivity in the frontal and cingulate gyri, coupled with hyperactivity in the temporal gyrus and putamen, may contribute to the pathophysiology of AHs.
Electrons* ; Hallucinations* ; Humans ; Positron-Emission Tomography* ; Putamen ; Schizophrenia* ; Temporal Lobe

Paralimbic association area in the temporal pole is situated between sensory association areas and the limbic regions and has direct connections with these areas and the ventral striatum. Corticostriatal connections of paralimbic association area in the temporal pole were studied with particular emphasis on specific projections of the ventral striatum to identify different contributions to the functional outcome of the ventral striatum. Retrograde tracers were injected into the five different regions of the ventral striatum such as the ventromedial caudate nucleus, ventral shell, central shell, dorsal core of the nucleus accumbens (NA), and ventrolateral putamen to identify the labeled cells of origin. Present results indicate that the temporal pole has specifically dense projections to the ventral shell of NA. This differential pattern of corticostriatal connectivity suggests that ventral shell region of ventral striatum is preferentially involved in the convergence of sensory and limbic stimulus to motivational and emotional states.
Basal Ganglia ; Caudate Nucleus ; Nucleus Accumbens ; Primates* ; Putamen

The dopaminergic system is involved in the regulation of food intake, which is crucial for the maintenance of body weight. We examined the relationship between striatal dopamine (DA) D2/3 receptor availability and body mass index (BMI) in 25 non-obese healthy male subjects using [11C]raclopride and positron emission tomography. None of [11C]raclopride binding potential (BP) values (measures of DA D2/3 receptor availability) in striatal subregions (dorsal caudate, dorsal putamen, and ventral striatum) in the left and right hemispheres was significantly correlated with BMI. However, there was a positive correlation between the right-left asymmetry index of [11C]raclopride BP in the dorsal putamen and BMI (r=0.43, p<0.05), suggesting that greater BMI is linked with higher receptor availability in the right dorsal putamen relative to the left in non-obese individuals. The present results, combined with previous findings, may also suggest neurochemical mechanisms underlying the regulation of food intake in non-obese individuals.
Body Mass Index* ; Body Weight ; Dopamine* ; Eating ; Humans ; Male ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Putamen*

Hemiballism is a ballistic, involuntary movement disorder, usually of a sudden onset, an often occurs due to encephalomalasic lesion, mostly an infarction, of deep structure of contralateral cerebral hemisphere, rarely by a small hemorrhage. The lesion site is thought to be mainly subthalamic nucleus contralateral to the abnormal movement. But there have been several reports on hemiballism without involvement of subthalmic nucleus throughout the world. We report a case of acute vascular hemiballism occurred due to a small hemorrhage with involvement of left putamen and globus pallidus, which was demonstrated by computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging study of brain.
Brain ; Cerebrum ; Dyskinesias* ; Globus Pallidus ; Hemorrhage ; Infarction ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Putamen ; Subthalamic Nucleus

Many researchers are using viruses to deliver genes of interest into the brains of laboratory animals. However, certain target brain cells are not easily infected by viruses. Moreover, the differential tropism of different viruses in monkey brain is not well established. We investigated the cellular tropism of lentivirus and adeno-associated virus (AAV) toward neuron and glia in the brain of cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascularis). Lentivirus and AAV were injected into putamen of the monkey brain. One month after injection, monkeys were sacrificed, and then the presence of viral infection by expression of reporter fluorescence proteins was examined. Tissues were sectioned and stained with NeuN and GFAP antibodies for identifying neuronal cells or astrocytes, respectively, and viral reporter GFP-expressing cells were counted. We found that while lentivirus infected mostly astrocytes, AAV infected neurons at a higher rate than astrocytes. Moreover, astrocytes showed reactiveness when cells were infected by virus, likely due to virus-mediated neuroinflammation. The Sholl analysis was done to compare the hypertrophy of infected and uninfected astrocytes by virus. The lentivirus infected astrocytes showed negligible hypertrophy whereas AAV infected astrocytes showed significant changes in morphology, compared to uninfected astrocytes. In the brain of cynomolgus monkey, lentivirus shows tropism for astrocytes over neurons without much reactivity in astrocytes, whereas AAV shows tropism for neurons over glial cells with a significant reactivity in astrocytes. We conclude that AAV is best-suited for gene delivery to neurons, whereas lentivirus is the best choice for gene delivery to astrocytes in the brain of cynomolgus monkeys.
Animals, Laboratory ; Antibodies ; Astrocytes ; Brain* ; Dependovirus* ; Fluorescence ; Haplorhini ; Hypertrophy ; Lentivirus* ; Macaca fascicularis* ; Neuroglia ; Neurons ; Putamen ; Tropism*

Authors analysed 553 CT-scan confirmed cases of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage. According to anatomical sites, incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage was greatest in the putamen with 45%, followed by 21.1%, in the thalamus, 16.3% in the subcortex, 5.9% in the cerebellum, 5.9% in the ventricles and 4.8% in the pons. According to hematoma sites, mortality rates were 23.3% in the putamen, 28.4% in the thalamus, 32.2% in the subcortex, 59.2% in the pons, 21.2% in the ventricles. The overall mortality rate was 28%.
Cerebellum ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Hematoma ; Incidence ; Intracranial Hemorrhage, Hypertensive* ; Mortality ; Pons ; Putamen ; Thalamus

Among the series of 272 cases of surgically treated anterior circulation aneurysms, we experienced 6 cases of central infarctions involving caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, putamen and genu of internal capsule respectively or in combination. These surgery related complications were caused by the injury to the perforators going to the anterior perforated substance during manipulation of the large aneurysm or the aneurysms ruptured prematurely. The clinical courses of these patients, however, were not so severe. The morbidities were minimal or none after the average follow-up periods of 17 months. Thorough knowledge of the anatomy of the perforators may help to minimize the severe morbidity in the management of large or difficult aneurysms.
Aneurysm* ; Caudate Nucleus ; Follow-Up Studies ; Globus Pallidus ; Humans ; Infarction* ; Internal Capsule ; Olfactory Pathways ; Putamen