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Attention and Executive Function Disorders
Published in Christopher J. Nicholls, Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children and Adolescents, 2018
The Human Connectome Project (n.d.) represents one example of the new approaches to understanding the brain. This collaboration between the University of Southern California’s Laboratory of Neuro Imaging and the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital has as its goal the construction of a map of the complete structural and functional neural connections of the brain. While producing spectacular images of the major brain pathways, this project hopes to map the essential circuits of the brain, to allow us to explore the cells of various areas of brain and the functions that depend upon those cells. What becomes abundantly clear is that a problem in one section of a circuit has far-reaching consequences and implications for other sections of that circuit. We are therefore turning our attention away from specific locations or areas of the brain, to the study of behaviors and skills that are reflective of complicated circuits and networks of brain “wiring.”
Chapter 11 No stone left unturned: the relevance of the neurosciences to infection prevention and control
Published in Paul Elliott, Julie Storr, Annette Jeanes, Barry Professor Cookson, Benedetta Professor Allegranzi, Marilyn ADJ Professor Cruickshank, Infection Prevention and Control, 2017
The Human Connectome Project aims to build a ‘network map’ that will shed light on the anatomical and functional connectivity within the brain. Sebastian Seung, in his book Connectome: how the brain’s wiring makes us who we are,11 explains that any kind of personal change is about changing your connectomes. Seung explains that, unlike our genome, which is fixed from the moment of conception, our connectomes change throughout life. There are many unknowns on the matter but it’s largely believed that life experiences and genetics change our connectomes. Does this matter to our ultimate goals in IPC? Is there a way of influencing people’s connectomes that we just haven’t found yet? Will the outcome of the Human Connectome Project be helpful to us in the future? Seung describes the way muscles work, the axons, the synapses, contractions of fibres – muscles being the final destination of all neural pathways. This is of relevance in instilling habits. Neuroscientists explain that brain cells found where habits are formed and movement is controlled have receptors that work like computer processors to translate regular activities into habits.12
Armand
Published in Walter J. Hendelman, Peter Humphreys, Christopher R. Skinner, The Integrated Nervous System, 2017
Walter J. Hendelman, Peter Humphreys, Christopher R. Skinner
The localization of areas of the brain responsible for specific function is being elucidated by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other modalities such as magnetic electroencephalography (MEEG). The interactions of the various functional nodes and links within the brain can be studied and are collectively known as the ‘Connectome’. Increasingly, the sum of interactions depends on widespread network connections and their interactions. The pattern of degradation of these interactions can be used to categorize various types of cortical and subcortical dementia. However, there remain basic brain anatomic localizations for various functions.
The human functional connectome in neurodegenerative diseases: relationship to pathology and clinical progression
Published in Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 2023
Massimo Filippi, Edoardo Gioele Spinelli, Camilla Cividini, Alma Ghirelli, Silvia Basaia, Federica Agosta
Recently, the translation of mathematical concepts based on the graph and its properties to the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has allowed to investigate and better understand the topological changes in the structural and functional brain network organization in humans [8], and, thus, to find evidence supporting the ‘disconnection syndrome’ hypothesis [9]. The brain is mathematically modelled as a set of ‘nodes,’ which intuitively represent the cortical and subcortical grey matter regions, and ‘edges’ that link pairs of nodes, representing either anatomical (i.e. structural) connections or inter-regional time series correlations from functional data. Thereby, such collection of nodes (brain regions or neurons) and edges (connections) defines a very comprehensive graph, known as the ‘brain connectome.’ If the edges of the graph represent the functional co-activation between two regions, we refer to the ‘functional brain connectome,’ which describes and maps the brain networks involved in complex motor, cognitive and behavioral functions. In fact, such approaches based on graph theory – i.e. connectomics – not only offer analytically powerful methods for brain network analysis and modeling, but also a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding the biological basis of brain function and its alterations in pathological conditions, including neurodegenerative disorders [10,11].
How can preclinical cognitive research further neuropsychiatric drug discovery? Chances and challenges
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, 2020
Human brain imaging studies like positron emission tomography (PET), (functional) magnetic resonance imaging ((f)MRI), near-infrared spectroscopy, multielectrode electrophysiology, etc., will go on to feed the field with a large amount of data on brain networks and their connectivity, the so-called ‘connectome.’ These studies are crucial in uncovering and localizing the defective sites and networks in the ill brain. Psychiatric and cognitive disorders are characterized by altered connectivity and brain oscillations [9,10] therefore they are termed ‘connectopathies’ by the researchers of the field. This conceptual framework may also give rise to a theoretical model for the pathomechanism of schizophrenia [11]. However, mapping the defective regions does not directly offer a molecular target for pharmacological intervention, and connectivity analyses per se cannot reveal the underlying changes in neurotransmission and synaptic functions.
Deep brain stimulation in essential tremor: targets, technology, and a comprehensive review of clinical outcomes
Published in Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 2020
Joshua K. Wong, Christopher W. Hess, Leonardo Almeida, Erik H. Middlebrooks, Evangelos A. Christou, Erin E. Patrick, Aparna Wagle Shukla, Kelly D. Foote, Michael S. Okun
Progression of ET DBS research will parallel our exploration into the pathophysiology of ET. As the field of computational modeling and bioinformatics matures, our view of neurologic diseases will start to incorporate network-based representations and hypotheses. The growth of MRI DTI and rs-fMRI technology has provided novel in vivo illustrations of brain circuitry and connectivity to the field of neuroscience. Analysis of these connections will hopefully allow us to identify reliable patterns of abnormal networks that drive tremor generation in ET. Utilizing network-based strategies may also facilitate widening of therapeutic window as we catalog circuit profiles that correspond to stimulation-induced side effects. This could then lead to targeting strategies that focus on neuromodulation of networks rather than focal regions of interest within the brain. As we foster a global, whole-brain network approach to neurological diseases, we may discover that while principle connectivity may be a universally common feature, each person may have distinctive variations that lead to a unique connectome profile. By approaching the connectome in this fashion, we can create patient specific neuromodulation therapies for each individual and offer patients meaningful changes in quality of life.