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Neuroimaging in children prenatally exposed to drugs of abuse: Considerations for experimental design and statistical analysis
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NBTS 2013 Abstracts
behavioral testing that included locomotor activity (preweaning, postweaning, adult), overall evaluation using a functional observational battery (FOB: postweaning, adult), and cognitive function in a Morris water maze (place learning followed by match-to-sample, or working memory: adult). Comparison of the cage and air control groups revealed few significant differences across all tests, but only an effect on body weight was consistent: cage controls (both sexes) weighed more, beginning as young adults and persisting through the rest of testing. Effects of gasoline-exposed rats were compared only to the air control. There were no differences in body weight/growth or motor activity at any age. A decrease in one sensorimotor test in the FOB (tail pinch: adult males only, all treatment groups same) was observed. In the Morris water maze, treated rats showed decreased pathlength across days during place training (6000 ppm males only) and increased latency and pathlength on a single day during the working memory trials (9000 ppm females). There were no differences in other learning or memory parameters, swim speed, or latency to reach a visible platform. Taken together these sporadic and nonsystematic findings do not suggest treatment-related adverse outcomes on these behavioral measures following exposure to gasoline vapors during gestation. This is an abstract of a proposed presentation and does not reflect US EPA policy. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2013.03.030
NBTS 28 Neuroimaging of normal brain development from birth to adulthood & neuroplasticity associated with neurological disorder and brain injury Scott Hollanda,b a Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, USA b University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA During the past 2 decades, breakthroughs have occurred in MRI, MEG and EEG methods for brain mapping that have made these noninvasive neuroimaging technologies suitable for studies of brain development and disorders in children as well as adults. We can visualize brain structure, function and metabolism with high spatial and temporal resolution and image analysis tools are now available that allow us to examine not only regional brain activity and anatomy but also to map the networks that connect brain areas together in functional units supporting high level neurocognitive functions. This talk will focus on the use of these methods to study brain development with a particular focus on emerging language networks in the brain and how these networks are affected by brain injury or disease. The presentation will begin with a brief overview of modern neuroimaging techniques with a particular focus on anatomical and functional MRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging. Applications of these methods to studies of brain-language networks throughout development will be discussed, with an examination of developmental changes in functional brain organization, lateralization and connectivity from early childhood to adulthood. With normative development of brain-language networks as a reference frame, the influence of various types of brain disorders and injuries will be illustrated using data from several studies that include pediatric and adult patients with epilepsy and stroke as well as children with traumatic brain injury, congenital deafness, and early lead exposure. Even early exposure to a Chinese language prior to adoption to English speaking parents in the USA leaves a lasting imprint on the neural circuitry of language that is still detectable by fMRI a decade after adoption, when the original language is long forgotten. The presentation will conclude with future concepts on the horizon in brain mapping that integrate multi-modal imaging data into computational models of brain network connectivity. We image the brain, but modern connectivity analysis techniques applied to neuroimaging data allow us to examine
how the mind works, providing new insights into brain disorders that affect personality, mood and consciousness. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2013.03.031
NBTS 29 Neuroimaging in children prenatally exposed to drugs of abuse: Considerations for experimental design and statistical analysis Jennifer Willforda, Dil Singhabahub, Nilu Ranaweerab, Gale Richardsonb a Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA, USA b University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) has been associated with deficits in behavioral regulation and attention. Neuroimaging is a powerful tool that can be used to provide neurobiological evidence of these effects on behavior and brain function. Using functional MRI (fMRI), the link between PCE and the underlying neural substrates associated with behavioral outcomes of attention was studied. Issues related to experimental design and statistical analysis in neuroimaging studies of PCE were explored, including selection of appropriate groups, matching strategies for reducing the influence of possible confounding variables, and controlling for important covariates in analyses. Subjects were 21year-olds participating in the ongoing Maternal Health Practices and Child Development Project, a longitudinal study of the effects of PCE on growth, behavior, and cognitive function. Three groups were compared: 1) prenatal exposure to cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco (CAMT, N = 15), 2) prenatal exposure to alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco (AMT, N = 17), and 3) no prenatal exposure to drugs (Controls, N = 15). This study used the Posner and Petersen (1990) theoretical model, which posits three components of attention: alerting, orienting, and executive attention. Subjects completed an fMRI scan while performing the Attention Network Task, a validated neuroimaging measure of the 3-network model of attention. Analyses target differences in functioning in key brain regions associated with each of the attention networks: alerting network, which involves changes in the fusiform gyrus, right precentral gyrus, and left putamen; orienting network, which involves changes in the superior parietal lobe, left fusiform gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and superior frontal gyrus; and executive control network, which involves changes in left superior frontal gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus. After controlling for selected covariates, analyses indicated that CAMT was associated with reduced activation in some brain regions and that AMT showed activation intermediate between the CAMT and Control groups, suggesting a unique contribution of PCE on brain activation associated with attention. The differences that were found in brain activation associated with the attention networks will play a critical role in understanding the attention, cognitive, and behavioral regulation problems associated with PCE. (Support: DA008916-S1, Willford & Richardson, PIs; DA008916, Richardson, PI.) Posner MI, Petersen SE. The attention system of the human brain. Annu Rev Neurosci 1990;13:25–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2013.03.032
NBTS 30 The challenges and rewards of behavioral neuroimaging Paul Vaskaa,b, Daniela Schulza a Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States b Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, United States
NBTS 2013 Abstracts
behavioral testing that included locomotor activity (preweaning, postweaning, adult), overall evaluation using a functional observational battery (FOB: postweaning, adult), and cognitive function in a Morris water maze (place learning followed by match-to-sample, or working memory: adult). Comparison of the cage and air control groups revealed few significant differences across all tests, but only an effect on body weight was consistent: cage controls (both sexes) weighed more, beginning as young adults and persisting through the rest of testing. Effects of gasoline-exposed rats were compared only to the air control. There were no differences in body weight/growth or motor activity at any age. A decrease in one sensorimotor test in the FOB (tail pinch: adult males only, all treatment groups same) was observed. In the Morris water maze, treated rats showed decreased pathlength across days during place training (6000 ppm males only) and increased latency and pathlength on a single day during the working memory trials (9000 ppm females). There were no differences in other learning or memory parameters, swim speed, or latency to reach a visible platform. Taken together these sporadic and nonsystematic findings do not suggest treatment-related adverse outcomes on these behavioral measures following exposure to gasoline vapors during gestation. This is an abstract of a proposed presentation and does not reflect US EPA policy. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2013.03.030
NBTS 28 Neuroimaging of normal brain development from birth to adulthood & neuroplasticity associated with neurological disorder and brain injury Scott Hollanda,b a Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, USA b University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA During the past 2 decades, breakthroughs have occurred in MRI, MEG and EEG methods for brain mapping that have made these noninvasive neuroimaging technologies suitable for studies of brain development and disorders in children as well as adults. We can visualize brain structure, function and metabolism with high spatial and temporal resolution and image analysis tools are now available that allow us to examine not only regional brain activity and anatomy but also to map the networks that connect brain areas together in functional units supporting high level neurocognitive functions. This talk will focus on the use of these methods to study brain development with a particular focus on emerging language networks in the brain and how these networks are affected by brain injury or disease. The presentation will begin with a brief overview of modern neuroimaging techniques with a particular focus on anatomical and functional MRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging. Applications of these methods to studies of brain-language networks throughout development will be discussed, with an examination of developmental changes in functional brain organization, lateralization and connectivity from early childhood to adulthood. With normative development of brain-language networks as a reference frame, the influence of various types of brain disorders and injuries will be illustrated using data from several studies that include pediatric and adult patients with epilepsy and stroke as well as children with traumatic brain injury, congenital deafness, and early lead exposure. Even early exposure to a Chinese language prior to adoption to English speaking parents in the USA leaves a lasting imprint on the neural circuitry of language that is still detectable by fMRI a decade after adoption, when the original language is long forgotten. The presentation will conclude with future concepts on the horizon in brain mapping that integrate multi-modal imaging data into computational models of brain network connectivity. We image the brain, but modern connectivity analysis techniques applied to neuroimaging data allow us to examine
how the mind works, providing new insights into brain disorders that affect personality, mood and consciousness. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2013.03.031
NBTS 29 Neuroimaging in children prenatally exposed to drugs of abuse: Considerations for experimental design and statistical analysis Jennifer Willforda, Dil Singhabahub, Nilu Ranaweerab, Gale Richardsonb a Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA, USA b University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) has been associated with deficits in behavioral regulation and attention. Neuroimaging is a powerful tool that can be used to provide neurobiological evidence of these effects on behavior and brain function. Using functional MRI (fMRI), the link between PCE and the underlying neural substrates associated with behavioral outcomes of attention was studied. Issues related to experimental design and statistical analysis in neuroimaging studies of PCE were explored, including selection of appropriate groups, matching strategies for reducing the influence of possible confounding variables, and controlling for important covariates in analyses. Subjects were 21year-olds participating in the ongoing Maternal Health Practices and Child Development Project, a longitudinal study of the effects of PCE on growth, behavior, and cognitive function. Three groups were compared: 1) prenatal exposure to cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco (CAMT, N = 15), 2) prenatal exposure to alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco (AMT, N = 17), and 3) no prenatal exposure to drugs (Controls, N = 15). This study used the Posner and Petersen (1990) theoretical model, which posits three components of attention: alerting, orienting, and executive attention. Subjects completed an fMRI scan while performing the Attention Network Task, a validated neuroimaging measure of the 3-network model of attention. Analyses target differences in functioning in key brain regions associated with each of the attention networks: alerting network, which involves changes in the fusiform gyrus, right precentral gyrus, and left putamen; orienting network, which involves changes in the superior parietal lobe, left fusiform gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and superior frontal gyrus; and executive control network, which involves changes in left superior frontal gyrus and left middle frontal gyrus. After controlling for selected covariates, analyses indicated that CAMT was associated with reduced activation in some brain regions and that AMT showed activation intermediate between the CAMT and Control groups, suggesting a unique contribution of PCE on brain activation associated with attention. The differences that were found in brain activation associated with the attention networks will play a critical role in understanding the attention, cognitive, and behavioral regulation problems associated with PCE. (Support: DA008916-S1, Willford & Richardson, PIs; DA008916, Richardson, PI.) Posner MI, Petersen SE. The attention system of the human brain. Annu Rev Neurosci 1990;13:25–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ntt.2013.03.032
NBTS 30 The challenges and rewards of behavioral neuroimaging Paul Vaskaa,b, Daniela Schulza a Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States b Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, United States