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Daylength and the rates of changes in daylength have been associated with seasonal fluctuations in psychiatric symptoms and in cognition and mood in healthy adults. However, variations in human brain glucose metabolism in concordance with seasonal changes remain under explored.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, we examined seasonal effects on brain glucose metabolism, which we measured using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET in 97 healthy participants. To maximize the sensitivity of regional effects, we computed relative metabolic measures by normalizing the regional measures to white matter metabolism. Additionally, we explored the role of rest–activity rhythms/sleep–wake activity measured with actigraphy in the seasonal variations of regional brain metabolic activity.
Results
We found that seasonal variations of cerebral glucose metabolism differed across brain regions. Glucose metabolism in prefrontal regions increased with longer daylength and with greater day-to-day increases in daylength. The cuneus and olfactory bulb had the maximum and minimum metabolic values around the summer and winter solstice respectively (positively associated with daylength), whereas the temporal lobe, brainstem, and postcentral cortex showed maximum and minimum metabolic values around the spring and autumn equinoxes, respectively (positively associated with faster daylength gain). Longer daylength was associated with greater amplitude and robustness of diurnal activity rhythms suggesting circadian involvement.
Conclusions
The current findings advance our knowledge of seasonal patterns in a key indicator of brain function relevant for mood and cognition. These data could inform treatment interventions for psychiatric symptoms that peak at specific times of the year.
Preterm birth is a global health problem and associated with increased risk of long-term developmental impairments, but findings on the adverse outcomes of prematurity have been inconsistent.
Methods
Data were obtained from the baseline session of the ongoing longitudinal Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. We identified 1706 preterm children and 1865 matched individuals as Control group and compared brain structure (MRI data), cognitive function and mental health symptoms.
Results
Results showed that preterm children had higher psychopathological risk and lower cognitive function scores compared to controls. Structural MRI analysis indicated that preterm children had higher cortical thickness in the medial orbitofrontal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, temporal and occipital gyrus; smaller volumes in the temporal and parietal gyrus, cerebellum, insula and thalamus; and smaller fiber tract volumes in the fornix and parahippocampal-cingulum bundle. Partial correlation analyses showed that gestational age and birth weight were associated with ADHD symptoms, picvocab, flanker, reading, fluid cognition composite, crystallized cognition composite and total cognition composite scores, and measures of brain structure in regions involved with emotional regulation, attention and cognition.
Conclusions
These findings suggest a complex interplay between psychopathological risk and cognitive deficits in preterm children that is associated with changes in regional brain volumes, cortical thickness, and structural connectivity among cortical and limbic brain regions critical for cognition and emotional well-being.
By
Gene-Jack Wang, Department of Psychiatry Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York, NY, USA and Medical Department Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY, USA,
Nora D. Volkow, National institute of Drug Abuse and National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Bethesda, MD, USA,
Joanna S. Fowler, Department of Psychiatry Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York, NY, USA and Medical Department Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, NY, USA,
Panayotis K. Thanos, National institute of Drug Abuse and National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Bethesda, MD, USA
Functional neuroimaging techniques have been used to assess the link between intake of food ingredients (i.e. glucose) and changes in hypothalamus, and to compare responses in lean and obese individuals. Several functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies reported transient changes of the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals in the hypothalamus after administration of glucose in rats and humans. Many peripheral metabolic signals directly or indirectly interact with brain dopamine (DA) pathways. This chapter discusses the relation of DA in brain regions during sensory perception of food. These regions include insular cortex, somatosensory cortex, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and amygdala. These brain imaging studies have the potential to facilitate the understanding of mechanisms underlying obesity and overeating behaviors and provide scientific bases for the assessment of the efficacy of drug treatments and for the development of novel pharmacological approaches.
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