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Neuroanatomy and Brain Perfusion in Functional Somatic Syndromes
Published in Peter Manu, The Psychopathology of Functional Somatic Syndromes, 2020
Compared with healthy subjects, patients with chronic fatigue syndrome were found to have larger volumes of the lateral ventricles. The significance of the differences was given as p = 0.06 for the entire ventricular system and as p = 0.07 for the separate comparisons of the left and right ventricles, respectively. The ventricle-to-brain ratios were also statistically similar in the two groups, as was the degree of brain asymmetry. Coexisting psychiatric diagnoses, severity of symptoms, and duration of the fatiguing illness did not correlate with the cerebral ventricular volumes. The authors attributed the lack of significant differences to the small sample size by noting that the study had only a 46 percent chance to detect true differences at the p < 0.05 level. Be that as it may, the hypothesized brain mass loss in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome was not confirmed by this work.
Correlations Between Different Aspects of Lateralization, and with Gender
Published in Robert Miller, Axonal Conduction Time and Human Cerebral Laterality, 2019
McGlone (1980) reviewed the evidence on gender effects upon laterality, and concluded that overall females show less pronounced functional laterality effects than males. However, she writes: “when statistically analysed, sex-by-laterality interactions often tend to be weaker than the main effect of laterality, and they are easily altered by other factors, such as age, aetiology of the lesion, strategies and test procedures. Thus one must not overlook perhaps the most obvious conclusion, which is that basic patterns of male and female brain asymmetry seem to be more similar than they are different.”
Functional Specialization of the Brain (General Theoretical Framework)
Published in Ivanka V. Asenova, Brain Lateralization and Developmental Disorders, 2018
The main postulates of the modern concept of functional specialization of the brain could be briefly summarized as follows: The functional brain asymmetry is seen as different in character and unequal in importance with regard to participation of LH and RH in the realization of mental functions. The functional asymmetry of the two cerebral hemispheres is partial rather than global [28, 87, 113]. Three main types of hemispheric asymmetries can be differentiated: motor (upper and lower limbs, etc.), sensory (auditory, visual, olfactory, etc.) and mental (perceptive, mnemonic, attentional, intellectual, etc.), as each one is subdivided into many partial subtypes [72, 113, 194]. Combinations of these types of asymmetries form numerous profiles of functional asymmetry [113].Any concrete form of asymmetry is characterized by a certain size, and based on the quantitative indicators, we can talk about strong or weak asymmetry [7, 113].The degree of brain lateralization in humans is subject to inter- and intra-individual differences [7, 97, 102, 104].Hemispheric lateralization of function is associated with improved cognitive ability [7, 46, 86, 97].The functional specialization of the cerebral hemispheres is a product of biological and social mechanisms [50, 153, 199].
Handedness as a neurodevelopmental marker in schizophrenia: Results from the FACE-SZ cohort
Published in The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 2022
Jasmina Mallet, Ophélia Godin, Yann Le Strat, Nicolas Mazer, Fabrice Berna, Laurent Boyer, Delphine Capdevielle, Julie Clauss, Isabelle Chéreau, Thierry D’Amato, Julien Dubreucq, Sylvain Leigner, Pierre-Michel Llorca, David Misdrahi, Christine Passerieux, Romain Rey, Baptiste Pignon, Mathieu Urbach, Franck Schürhoff, Guillaume Fond, Caroline Dubertret
The neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia (SZ) is supported by various data including potentially increased non-right handedness (NRH) and mixed-handedness in this population. Brain asymmetry, language, and handedness are believed to be very closely tied, although imperfectly (Rodriguez and Waldenström 2008). Handedness is thus a simple way of capturing atypical lateralisation (Barrantes-Vidal et al. 2013) and has been recently shown to be determined in part by both genetic and biological pathways (Satz and Green 1999; Brandler and Paracchini 2014). The frontostriatal monoaminergic circuits implicated in the occurrence of SZ are also lateralised (Klimkeit and Bradshaw 2006). Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain brain asymmetry such as the left hemisphere lag, the left hemisphere being especially vulnerable to insults, and frank differences in hemispheric specialisation (Geschwind and Galaburda 1985). NRH could result from an acute neurodevelopmental impairment (van Dyck et al. 2012; Ho et al. 2017; Wang B et al. 2018) associated with epigenetic processes (due to biological challenges like inflammation/infections for example) that, in addition to genetic factors, are likely to contribute to the SZ pathogenesis. It may thus be reasonably hypothesised that NRH, including mixed-handedness, could be an easy clinical factor to explore abnormal cognitive functions due to brain lateralisation issues (Webb et al. 2013).
Comparative study of the volume of the temporal lobe sections and neuropeptide effect in Alzheimer’s patients and healthy persons
Published in International Journal of Neuroscience, 2021
Emine Petekkaya, Gülen Burakgazi, Berna Kuş, İsmet Murat Melek, Abdullah Arpacı
Brain asymmetry has been observed at structural, functional and behavioral levels in animals and humans before [21]. The environmental and pathological effects affect this asymmetry [21]. Previous studies have shown an abnormal increase in functional asymmetry in AD patients [22,23]. MRI data revealed left lateralized atrophy in several cortical areas. It is known that the right hippocampus is larger than the left in normal subjects [23]. Some studies have suggested that natural R > L asymmetry is reduced or even reversed in AD [24]. Consistent with this, in our study, the HIPPO_R volume in AD patients was found to be 7% smaller than the left. However, other studies have suggested that AD may be associated with involvement of the left hemisphere atrophy [23,25]. So, we can talk about the presence of asymmetry in the hippocampal atrophy of AD patients for now, rather than a preferential lateralization. More interestingly, the ENT_L volume in our study was much more atrophic than the right (34%) indicates an asymmetric change in ENT volume. The literature focuses more on increased hippocampal asymmetry for early diagnosis of AD. However, our study shows that the ENT asymmetry is more pronounced in the early stage of AD.
Stating asymmetry in neural pathways: methodological trends in autonomic neuroscience
Published in International Journal of Neuroscience, 2018
Carlos Henrique Xavier, Michelle Mendanha Mendonça, Fernanda Ribeiro Marins, Elder Sales da Silva, Danielle Ianzer, Diego Basile Colugnati, Gustavo Rodrigues Pedrino, Marco Antonio Peliky Fontes
Brain asymmetry is an underestimated subject that certainly should be considered with greater attention from a physiological and pathological point of view. Injuries or stimulations give rise to dramatic changes, among other, in the cardiovascular response, depending on the side on which they occur. Therefore, in the light of the interhemispheric differences and their impact on the autonomic control, scientists should be aware of possible differential responses when evaluating functional aspects of central nuclei. Comparisons of functional responses between the left and right sides of the nervous system regions are a relevant aspect that should be considered by researchers of different neuroscience branches. Whenever possible, investigation of asymmetry must be included as a methodological strategy in the experimental design. Additional efforts may improve the understanding on the role of central asymmetries in the control of the autonomic function.