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

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

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

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVES: We report event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) methodology to investigate human brain activity during motor imagery. METHODS: A 1.5 Tesla clinical MR scanner was used in the acquisition of a series of T2* weighted MR images covering the whole brain. Blood oxygenation level-dependent(BOLD) signal changes associated with the imagery event were subsequently detected while healthy right-handed subjects imagined clenching of a right hand cued by auditory stimulus. RESULTS: Group analysis across nine right-handed subjects revealed activations in the medial and superior frontal gyri, cuneus, insula, middle/superior temporal gyri, and anterior cingulate gyri. Bilateral primary motor, premotor and supplementary motor areas exhibited event-related MR signal changes. Although unilateral hand clenching was imagined, bilateral activation of eloquent motor areas was observed. The proposed method also allowed for the visualization of subcortical areas, such as putamen, globus pallidus and thalamus, responsive to the event of motor imagery. CONCLUSION: The major cortical and subcortical areas in the motor pathways were identified and visualized during motor imagery event. Our results suggest that motor imagery and actual movement share common neural substrates.
Brain ; Brain Mapping ; Efferent Pathways ; Globus Pallidus ; Hand ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Oxygen ; Putamen ; Thalamus

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the regional differences of the basal ganglia volume between the boy subjects who have Tourette's disorder and the control group who don't have this disorder by using Brain MRI. METHODS: Sixteen subjects who were diagnosed as Tourette's disorder using DSM-IV criteria, and sixteen healthy subjects were selected. For analysis the coronal slice images of the basal ganglia were collected and collected MR images were analyzed with NIH Image (version 6.1 ppc). RESULTS: The total brain volume in the subjects with Tourette's disorder were smaller than control group by 6.2% (F=6.2, d.f.=1, p=0.019). The right putamen volume in boys with Tourette's disorder were significant smaller than control group statistically (F=3.2, d.f.=3, p=0.040). The asymmetry (left>right) in the globus pallidus decreased significantly in the boys with Tourette's disorder (p=0.06) were found from this experiment. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that boys with Tourette's disorder may have neuropathological abnormalities in the basal ganglia. Moreover, the present findings point out the important role of basal ganglia, especially putamen, in pathophysiology of Tourette's disorder. More studies about the structural and functional analysis of the basal ganglia in Tourette's disorder are highly required.
Basal Ganglia ; Brain ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Globus Pallidus ; Putamen ; Tourette Syndrome

We report a diabetic woman who developed paroxysmal hemichorea during an episode of non-ketotic hyper-glycemia. A MRI showed a high signal intensity on T1-weighted images and a low signal intensity on T2-weighted images in the contralateral putamen. SPECT on the 30th day after the onset revealed an increased blood flow in the contralateral striatum. Although these abnormalities in the left putamen are considered to be the cause of her involuntary movement, the exact pathophysiological mechanisms of these abnormalities are not yet clear and further investigations are needed.
Dyskinesias ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Putamen ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

OBJECTIVE: In humans, a single exposure to phencyclidine (PCP) can induce a schizophrenia-like psychosis which can persist for up to two weeks. In rats, an acute dose of PCP increases dopaminergic activity and causes changes in dopamine related behaviours some of which are sexually dimorphic. To better understand the effects of PCP on dopamine receptor adaptations in the short term we examined dopamine D1-like receptors (D1R) and D2-like receptors (D2R) in the mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopamine pathways, 4 hours after exposure to PCP in female rats. METHODS: Animals received a single dose of 40 mg/kg PCP and were sacrificed 4 hours later. In vitro autoradiography was carried out using [3H] SCH 23390 and [3H] raclopride that target D1R and D2R respectively, in cryostat brain sections. RESULTS: Two way analysis of variance (ANOVA), revealed an overall effect of PCP treatment (F [1,63]=9.065; p=0.004) on D1R binding with an 18% decrease (p<0.01) in binding in the medial caudate putamen. PCP treatment also had an overall effect on D2R binding (F [1,47]=5.450; p=0.024) and a trend for an increase in D2R binding across all the brain regions examined. CONCLUSION: These results suggest opposing D1R and D2R adaptations in striatal subregions of female rats following acute exposure to PCP that may occur through indirect mechanisms.
Animals ; Autoradiography ; Benzazepines ; Brain ; Dopamine ; Female ; Humans ; Phencyclidine ; Psychotic Disorders ; Putamen ; Raclopride ; Rats ; Receptors, Dopamine

Retrospective analysis of 46 patients with intracerebral hematoma showed that the attack was most frequent in sixth decade and more prevalent in female. The most common cause of the attack was hypertension(80%) and the site of hemorrhage was putamen 32%, thalamic area 15%, subcortical area 7%, cerebellum 17%, ventricle 3%, and brain stem 4%. Mortality of total cases was 36% and there was no difference of mortality in both conservatively or operatively treated group(38% in conservative group, and 35% in operative group). The prognosis of the patient was unfavorable in the group of poor pretreatment Glasgow coma scale(GCS) and those of cases demonstrated more than 30cc of hematoma on computerized tomography(CT) of the brain. The improvement of GCS after management was better in operative group than in the conservative group.
Brain ; Brain Stem ; Cerebellum ; Coma ; Female ; Hematoma* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Mortality ; Prognosis ; Putamen ; Retrospective Studies