Effect of Mind Sound Resonance Technique (MSRT – A yoga-based relaxation technique) on psychological variables and cognition in school children: A randomized controlled trial

ObjectiveSchool children undergo stress, which could impact their psychological functions and cognitive abilities. Yoga practices have been found useful in enhancing psychological functions and performance. The current study was planned to evaluate a yoga-based relaxation technique's efficacy as an extracurricular activity on psychological state and cognitive function.Design and settingThis study was a parallel-group randomized controlled trial conducted at a government school in south India.ParticipantsSixty students with age ranging between 14–16 years (mean age ± SD; 15.3 ± 0.71 years) satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomized to experimental and control groups with an allocation ratio of 1:1.InterventionExperimental group received Mind Sound Resonance Technique (MSRT), whereas the control group performed supine rest (SR) for two-weeks.Outcome measuresParticipants were assessed with State trait anxiety inventory - short form, Mind Wandering Questionnaire, State Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale, and Trail making task at baseline and post-intervention.ResultsExperimental group showed a reduction in state anxiety and mind wandering with improvement in state mindfulness and performance in the Trail-making task compared to the control group.ConclusionResults of the current trial indicate the beneficial role of MSRT in enhancing psychological and cognitive functions in children. Further, large-scale trials are warranted to ascertain the usefulness of the technique.     

Intraoperative thalamocortical tract monitoring via direct cortical recordings during craniotomy

ObjectiveNeuromonitoring of primary motor regions allows preservation of motor strength and is frequently employed during cranial procedures. Less is known about protection of sensory function and ability to modulate movements, both of which rely on integrity of thalamocortical afferents (TCA) to fronto-parietal regions. We describe our experience with TCA monitoring and their cortical relays during brain tumor surgery.MethodologyTo study its feasibility and usefulness, continuous somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) recording via a subdural electrode was attempted in 32 consecutive patients.ResultsMedian and posterior tibial SSEP were successfully monitored in 31 and 17 patients respectively. SSEP improved lesion localization and prevented unnecessary cortical stimulation in 9 and 16 cases respectively. A threshold of ≥30% SSEP amplitude decrease influenced management in 10 patients while a decrement of ≥50 % had a sensitivity of 0.89 and specificity of 1 in detecting worsening of sensory function. Simultaneous motor evoked potentials (MEP) and SSEP monitoring were performed in 10 cases, 9 of which showed short-lived fluctuations of the former.ConclusionDirect cortical SSEP monitoring is feasible, informs management and predicts outcome.SignificanceEarly intervention prevents sensory deficit. Concomitant MEP fluctuations may reflect modulation of motor activity by TCA.     

Automated assessment of the substantia nigra on susceptibility map-weighted imaging using deep convolutional neural networks for diagnosis of Idiopathic Parkinson's disease

ObjectivesDespite its use in determining nigrostriatal degeneration, the lack of a consistent interpretation of nigrosome 1 susceptibility map-weighted imaging (SMwI) limits its generalized applicability. To implement and evaluate a diagnostic algorithm based on convolutional neural networks for interpreting nigrosome 1 SMwI for determining nigrostriatal degeneration in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD).MethodsIn this retrospective study, we enrolled 267 IPD patients and 160 control subjects (125 patients with drug-induced parkinsonism and 35 healthy subjects) at our institute, and 24 IPD patients and 27 control subjects at three other institutes on approval of the local institutional review boards. Dopamine transporter imaging served as the reference standard for the presence or absence of abnormalities of nigrosome 1 on SMwI. Diagnostic performance was compared between visual assessment by an experienced neuroradiologist and the developed deep learning-based diagnostic algorithm in both internal and external datasets using a bootstrapping method with 10000 re-samples by the “pROC” package of R (version 1.16.2).ResultsThe area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) (95% confidence interval [CI]) per participant by the bootstrap method was not significantly different between visual assessment and the deep learning-based algorithm (internal validation, .9622 [0.8912–1.0000] versus 0.9534 [0.8779-0.9956], P = .1511; external validation, 0.9367 [0.8843-0.9802] versus 0.9208 [0.8634-0.9693], P = .6267), indicative of a comparable performance to visual assessment.ConclusionsOur deep learning-based algorithm for assessing abnormalities of nigrosome 1 on SMwI was found to have a comparable performance to that of an experienced neuroradiologist.     

Comparison of quantitative susceptibility mapping methods on evaluating radiation-induced cerebral microbleeds and basal ganglia at 3T and 7T

Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) has the potential for being a biomarker for various diseases because of its ability to measure tissue susceptibility related to iron deposition, myelin, and hemorrhage from the phase signal of a T₂*-weighted MRI. Despite its promise as a quantitative marker, QSM is faced with many challenges, including its dependence on preprocessing of the raw phase data, the relatively weak tissue signal, and the inherently ill posed relationship between the magnetic dipole and measured phase. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of background field removal and dipole inversion algorithms on noise characteristics, image uniformity, and structural contrast for cerebral microbleed (CMB) quantification at both 3T and 7T. We selected four widely used background phase removal and five dipole field inversion algorithms for QSM and applied them to volunteers and patients with CMBs, who were scanned at two different field strengths, with ground truth QSM reference calculated using multiple orientation scans. 7T MRI provided QSM images with lower noise than did 3T MRI. QSIP and VSHARP + iLSQR achieved the highest white matter homogeneity and vein contrast, with QSIP also providing the highest CMB contrast. Compared with ground truth COSMOS QSM images, overall good correlations between susceptibility values of dipole inversion algorithms and the COSMOS reference were observed in basal ganglia regions, with VSHARP + iLSQR achieving the susceptibility values most similar to COSMOS across all regions. This study can provide guidance for selecting the most appropriate QSM processing pipeline based on the application of interest and scanner field strength.     

基于CiteSpace国内婴儿哭声研究领域的知识图谱分析

目的 分析国内婴儿哭声研究领域的现状,探索该领域国内研究热点,旨在为婴儿哭声领域科研工作提供一定思路和依据。方法 检索CNKI建库至2021年12月期间所收录的婴儿哭声相关研究文献,运用CiteSpace软件对纳入文献从发文量、作者、机构、关键词、突现5个方面进行可视化分析。结果 共纳入190篇文献,1980—2021年间该领域发文量整体呈上升趋势;研究作者较少,作者间合作网络尚未形成;研究机构之间交互性差,发文量最多的是杭州医学院及其附属医院;“护理干预”、“哭声信息识别”、“深度学习”为该领域研究热点;“护理”、“新生儿”、“婴儿哭声”、“深度学习”为该领域研究前沿;研究趋势由新生儿病理性哭声研究转向婴儿哭声针对性干预、深度学习。结论 国内婴儿哭声领域受到更多重视,未来应强化作者和机构间的合作交流,融合多学科发展,扩大研究范围,可从婴儿情感需求分析、智能医学与监护、新型护理干预方法等方面着手,加速国内婴儿哭声研究进程。     

MP2RAGEME: T1, T2*, and QSM mapping in one sequence at 7 tesla

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging generates images of meaningful physical or chemical variables measured in physical units that allow quantitative comparisons between tissue regions and among subjects scanned at the same or different sites. Here, we show that we can acquire quantitative T₁, T₂^*, and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) information in a single acquisition, using a multi‐echo (ME) extension of the second gradient‐echo image of the MP2RAGE sequence. This combination is called MP2RAGE ME, or MP2RAGEME. The simultaneous acquisition results in large time savings, perfectly coregistered data, and minimal image quality differences compared to separately acquired data. Following a correction for residual transmit B₁⁺‐sensitivity, quantitative T₁, T₂^*, and QSM values were in excellent agreement with those obtained from separately acquired, also B₁⁺‐corrected, MP2RAGE data and ME gradient echo data. The quantitative values from reference regions of interests were also in very good correspondence with literature values. From the MP2RAGEME data, we further derived a multiparametric cortical parcellation, as well as a combined arterial and venous map. In sum, our MP2RAGEME sequence has the benefit in large time savings, perfectly coregistered data and minor image quality differences.