Articles: brain.
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This study explored structural and functional alterations in the whole brain of stroke patients with hemiplegia. ⋯ This study identified key brain regions and characteristics that exhibit structural and functional changes following stroke injury.
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Chronic insomnia (CI) is a common sleep disorder in middle-aged and elderly individuals. Long-term sleep deprivation can lead to physical, mental, and cognitive damage. Resting-state networks (RSNs) in the brain are closely linked to cognition and behavior. ⋯ Moreover, FC values in the right middle frontal gyrus within right frontal parietal network of CI-I patients were negatively correlated with the Mini-Mental State Examination scores. These results may explain hyperarousal, attention deficit and motor impairments in CI patients. Furthermore, the aberrant alterations of RSNs in CI-I patients may play a crucial role in the onset and progression of cognitive impairment in CI patients.
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Heart failure (HF) frequently suffers from brain abnormalities and cognitive impairments. This study aims to investigate brain structure and function alteration in patients with chronic HF. This retrospective study included 49 chronic HF and 49 health controls (HCs). ⋯ Decreased GMV showed positive correlations with cognitive performance (r = 0.025-0.577, p = 0.025-0.001), while decreased fractional anisotropy was negatively correlated with anxiety scores (r = -0.339, p = 0.040) in patients with chronic HF. This study revealed that patients with chronic HF exhibited brain structure injury affecting gray matter and white matter, as well as FC abnormalities of brain regions responsible for cognition, sensorimotor and visual function. These findings suggest GMV could serve as a neuroimaging biomarker for cognitive impairments and a potential target for neuroprotective therapies in patients with chronic HF.
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Patients experiencing severe hemiplegia following a stroke struggle to rehabilitate their affected limbs. Cross-education (CE) training emerges as a promising rehabilitation method due to its safety, simplicity, low risk, and ability to effectively improve muscle strength in the affected limb. However, controversy surrounds the neural mechanisms and clinical applications of CE. ⋯ SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Exploring the neural mechanisms underlying one session of 50% MVC strength training with less-affected hand sheds light on a safe therapy. The study enhances our understanding of less-affected hand training and investigates the feasibility as a future rehabilitation approach. Analyzing how one session of 50% MVC strength training with less-affected hand affects brain activation and connectivity could lead to more tailored and effective rehabilitation strategies.
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In the last years, there has been a growing interest in the brain-heart connection. A core aspect of this connection appears to be the autonomic nervous system, particularly through the vagus nerve. Accordingly, vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is currently considered as an index of top-down control processes involved in cognition and emotion regulation. ⋯ Participants with higher resting vagal tone showed superior cognitive performance in tasks requiring cognitive control, motor and cognitive inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory in comparison to those with lower resting vagal tone. Furthermore, vagal-mediated heart rate variability was also found to be associated with memory, attention, and executive performance. The current research provides new insights into the interactions between cognitive and autonomic systems, further supporting evidence for body-brain interactions.