• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.68-74
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• 2017

Objectives It is well known that problem drinking is associated with alterations of brain structures and functions. Brain functions related to alcohol consumption can be determined by the resting state functional connectivity in various resting state networks (RSNs). This study aims to ascertain the alcohol effect on the structures forming predetermined RSNs by assessing their cortical thickness. Methods Twenty-six abstinent male patients with alcohol dependence and the same number of age-matched healthy control were recruited from an inpatient mental hospital and community. All participants underwent a 3T MRI scan. Averaged cortical thickness of areas constituting 7 RSNs were determined by using FreeSurfer with Yeo atlas derived from cortical parcellation estimated by intrinsic functional connectivity. Results There were significant group differences of mean cortical thicknesses (Cohen's d, corrected p) in ventral attention (1.01, < 0.01), dorsal attention (0.93, 0.01), somatomotor (0.90, 0.01), and visual (0.88, 0.02) networks. We could not find significant group differences in the default mode network. There were also significant group differences of gray matter volumes corrected by head size across the all networks. However, there were no group differences of surface area in each network. Conclusions There are differences in degree and pattern of structural recovery after abstinence across areas forming RSNs. Considering the previous observation that group differences of functional connectivity were significant only in networks related to task-positive networks such as dorsal attention and cognitive control networks, we can explain recovery pattern of cognition and emotion related to the default mode network and the mechanisms for craving and relapse associated with task-positive networks.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.231-240
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• 2014

The purpose of this study were to analyze that the Seoul neuropsychological screening battery (SNSB) for the evaluating cognitive assessment of the Parkinson's disease patients with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) and the changes of the cerebral ventricle volume in the brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and we has been bring forward the guideline to determine the diagnostic criteria for the PD-MCI. To achieve this, we was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease patients (PD-MCI group: 34 patients; Parkinson's disease with normal cognition, PD-NC group: 34 patients) to perform the SNSB test for the attention, language, memory, visuospatial, and frontal/executive functions and the brain MRI. Additionally, to compared the change of the cerebral ventricle volume, we performed the brain MRI for the 32 normal control (NC) group. The volumetric analysis for a specific cerebral ventricle performed by using Freesurfer Ver. 5.1 (Massachusetts general Hospital, Boston MA, USA). As a results, compared to the PD-NC group, the PD-MCI group were statistically significant reduction in the ability to perform the memory and the visuospatial function (p<0.05). The volumetric changes for a specific cerebral ventricle were statistically significant variation in the left and right lateral ventricle, left and right inferior lateral ventricle, and 3rd ventricle. Although, in order to compared the objectification, the normalized percentage applied to the volumetric changes showed to extend the PD-MCI group than the PD-NC group. Specially, the left and right ventricle extension for the PD-MCI patients conspicuously had showed a quantitative linear relationship between the memory and the visuospatial function for the SNSB (r>0.5, p<0.05). Therefore, we were able to judge the diagnostic criteria of the PD-MCI through that can observe the volumetric variation of the specific cerebral ventricle by using Freesurfer in brain MRI, and to analyze the correlation between the SNSB.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.73-81
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• 2024

This study compared the cortical thickness of patients with mood disorders and a control group to assess structural abnormalities. A retrospective study was conducted from September 2020 to August 2022 at the Department of Psychiatry, P Hospital in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do. The study included 44 individuals diagnosed with mood disorders and 59 healthy individuals without any pathological lesions. The 3D-T1 MPRAGE images obtained from magnetic resonance imaging examinations were utilized, and FreeSurfer software was employed to measure cortical thickness. Statistical analysis involved independent samples t-tests to measure the differences in means between the two groups, and Cohen's d test was used to compare the effect sizes of the differences. Furthermore, the correlation between the measured average cortical thickness and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores was analyzed. The research results revealed that patients with mood disorders exhibited decreased cortical thickness compared to the normal control group in both superior frontal regions, both rostral middle frontal regions, both caudal middle frontal regions, both pars opercularis, pars orbitals, pars triangularis regions, both superior temporal regions, both inferior temporal regions, both lateral orbitofrontal regions, both medial orbitofrontal regions, both fusiform regions, both posterior cingulate regions, both isthmus cingulate regions, both superior parietal regions, both inferior parietal regions, both supramarginal regions, left postcentral region, right bank of the superior temporal sulcus region, right middle temporal region, right rostral anterior cingulate region, and right insula region. Among them, regions that showed differences with effect sizes of 0.8 or higher were left fusiform (d=0.82), pars opercularis (d=0.94), superior frontal (d=0.88), right lateral orbitofrontal (d=0.85), and pars orbitalis (d=0.89). Additionally, there was a weak negative correlation between PANSS scores and average cortical thickness in both the left hemisphere (r=-0.234) and right hemisphere (r=-0.230). These findings are expected to be helpful in identifying areas of cortical thickness reduction in patients with mood disorders compared to healthy individuals and understanding the relationship between symptom severity and cortical thickness changes.