Biology subjects

Jalbrzikowski, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Jalbrzikowski, M..

12 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Processing strategies for improving cortical thickness correspondence between low-field and high-field MRI in young people

Portable low-field MRI systems are a promising complement to conventional high-field systems, enabling broader access to MRI. However, correspondence in cortical thickness estimates between low- and high-field MRI in young people remains limited despite its importance for neurodevelopment and psychopathology. To evaluate how multiple low-field image processing approaches improve cortical thickness correspondence with high-field MRI in a large sample of young individuals, we collected T1-weighted (T1w) and T2-weighted (T2w) data using both low-field (64mT) and high-field (3T) MRI within one week of each other from a community sample of young people. We applied deep learning-based super-resolution methods (SynthSR v1 and SynthSR v2) followed by recon-all, or other reconstruction methods (recon-all-clinical and recon-any), to low-field data acquired across multiple sequences (T1w and T2w) and orientations (axial, coronal, sagittal, and multi-orientation average), with and without resampling and/or co-registration. We assessed global, lobar, and regional cortical thickness correspondence with 3T MRI measures based on the Desikan-Killiany atlas using Pearson and intraclass correlations. We compared pipelines using Steiger's Z-tests and Fisher's Z-tests. A total of 150 individuals (mean age, 18.63+/-5.07; 80 female) were included. We observed the highest global correspondence with recon-all-clinical applied to coronal T1w images (r=0.40, pFDR=3.02e-05), which significantly exceeded the best global correspondence in our previous study (Fisher's Z=1.99, p=0.047). At the lobar and regional levels, multi-orientation T2w images processed with recon-all-clinical showed the highest correspondence across the greatest number of regions (4/12 lobes; 13/68 regions). This pipeline showed the highest correspondence and largest improvements relative to recon-all alone in frontal, cingulate, and temporal regions, including the right pars triangularis (r=0.52, pFDR=4.78e-11; Steiger's Z=4.78, pFDR=4.25e-06), right caudal anterior cingulate (r=0.47, pFDR=3.83e-09; Steiger's Z=5.46, pFDR=1.32e-07), and left parahippocampal regions (r=0.58, pFDR=2.98e-14; Steiger's Z=5.17, pFDR=6.01e-07). We observed significantly improved cortical thickness correspondence in low-field MRI in young people relative to recon-all alone and our prior work. The recon-all-clinical pipeline yielded moderate correspondence, particularly in frontal, cingulate, and temporal regions. Our results demonstrate a methodological improvement in the use of low-field MRI for assessing cortical thickness in young people, providing a quantitative benchmark for current tools in this area.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Using a wearable EEG device to examine age trends in sleep macro- and micro-architecture across adolescence

Adolescence is a period of distinct maturational changes in sleep physiology. Age-related trends in sleep physiology have been captured using laboratory-based polysomnography, a method limited by logistical burden and high cost. We tested the ability of the accessible Dreem3 sleep EEG headband to replicate established age effects in sleep physiology from late childhood through early adulthood. Typically developing youth (N=100, 9-26 years) completed 3-4 consecutive nights of at-home sleep recording. We estimated age-related trends across eight macro-architecture and 15 micro-architecture variables with known age effects, and conducted exploratory analyses of 24 additional variables. Dreem replicated established age trends, including increases in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stage 2, and decreases in N3, time in bed, NREM delta and theta power with increasing age. Exploratory analysis revealed age effects in twelve variables, including decreases in spindle activity with increasing age. Sleep EEG wearables offer an accessible way to characterize sleep physiology development.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

The association between cortical gyrification and sleep in adolescents and young adults.

Study objectivesHealthy sleep is important for adolescent neurodevelopment, and relationships between brain structure and sleep can vary in strength over this maturational window. Although cortical gyrification is increasingly considered a useful index for understanding cognitive and emotional outcomes in adolescence, and sleep is also a strong predictor of such outcomes, we know relatively little about associations between cortical gyrification and sleep. MethodsUsing Local gyrification index (lGI) of 34 bilateral brain regions and regularized regression for feature selection, we examined gyrification-sleep relationships in the Neuroimaging and Pediatric Sleep databank (252 participants; 9-26 years; 58.3% female) and identified developmentally invariant (stable across age) or developmentally specific (observed only during discrete age intervals) brain-sleep associations. Naturalistic sleep characteristics (duration, timing, continuity, and regularity) were estimated from wrist actigraphy. ResultsFor most brain regions, greater lGI was associated with longer sleep duration, earlier sleep timing, lower variability in sleep regularity, and shorter time awake after sleep onset. lGI in frontoparietal network regions showed associations with sleep patterns that were stable across age. However, in default mode network regions, lGI was only associated with sleep patterns from late childhood through early-to-mid adolescence, a period of vulnerability for mental health disorders. ConclusionsWe detected both developmentally invariant and developmentally specific ties between local gyrification and naturalistic sleep patterns. Default mode network regions may be particularly susceptible to interventions promoting more optimal sleep during childhood and adolescence.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Longitudinal development of thalamocortical functional connectivity in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Background22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22qDel) is a genetic Copy Number Variant (CNV) that strongly increases risk for schizophrenia and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Disrupted functional connectivity between the thalamus and somatomotor/frontoparietal cortex has been implicated in cross-sectional studies of 22qDel, idiopathic schizophrenia, and youth at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis. Here, we use a novel functional atlas approach to investigate longitudinal age-related changes in network-specific thalamocortical functional connectivity (TCC) in 22qDel and typically developing (TD) controls. MethodsTCC was calculated for nine functional networks derived from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans collected from n=65 22qDel participants (63.1% female) and n=69 demographically matched TD controls (49.3% female), ages 6 to 23 years. Analyses included 86 longitudinal follow-up scans. Non-linear age trajectories were characterized with general additive mixed models (GAMMs). ResultsIn 22qDel, TCC in the frontoparietal network increases until approximately age 13, while somatomotor and cingulo-opercular TCC decrease from age 6 to 23. In contrast, no significant relationships between TCC and age were found in TD controls. Somatomotor connectivity in 22qDel is significantly higher than TD in childhood, but lower in late adolescence. Frontoparietal TCC shows the opposite pattern. Conclusions22qDel is associated with aberrant development of functional network connectivity between the thalamus and cortex. Younger individuals with 22qDel have lower frontoparietal connectivity and higher somatomotor connectivity than controls, but this phenotype may normalize or partially reverse by early adulthood. Altered maturation of this circuitry may underlie elevated neuropsychiatric disease risk in this syndrome.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Subtly altered topological asymmetry of brain structural covariance networks in autism spectrum disorder across 43 datasets from the ENIGMA consortium

Small average differences in the left-right asymmetry of cerebral cortical thickness have been reported in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to typically developing controls. Although these alterations affect multiple and widespread cortical regional asymmetries, the extent to which specific structural networks might be affected remains unknown. Inter-regional morphological covariance analysis can capture network connectivity relations between different cortical areas at the macroscale level. Here, we used cortical thickness data from 1,455 individuals with ASD and 1,560 controls, across 43 independent datasets of the ENIGMA consortiums ASD Working Group, to assess hemispheric asymmetries of intra-individual structural covariance networks, using graph theory-based topological metrics. Compared with typical features of small-world architecture in controls, the ASD sample showed significantly altered asymmetry of hemispheric networks involving the fusiform, rostral middle frontal, and medial orbitofrontal cortex, driven by shifts toward higher randomization of the corresponding right-hemispheric networks in ASD. A network involving the superior frontal cortex showed decreased right-hemisphere randomization. Based on comparisons with meta-analyzed functional neuroimaging data, the altered connectivity asymmetry particularly affected networks that subserve working memory, executive functions, language, reading, and sensorimotor processes. Taken together, these findings provide new insights into how altered brain left-right asymmetry in ASD affects specific structural and functional brain networks. Altered asymmetrical brain development in ASD may be partly propagated among spatially distant regions through structural connectivity.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Associations between brain structure and sleep patterns across adolescent development

ImportanceStructural brain maturation and sleep are complex processes that exhibit significant changes over adolescence and are linked to healthy physical and mental development. The precise timing and magnitude of these changes influence function throughout the lifespan. However, the relationships between gray matter structure and sleep patterns during adolescence are not fully understood. A detailed characterization of brain-sleep associations during this sensitive period is crucial for understanding factors contributing to optimal neurodevelopmental trajectories in adolescence. ObjectiveTo investigate whether sleep-gray matter relationships are developmentally-invariant (i.e., stable across age) or developmentally-specific (i.e., only present during discrete time windows) from late childhood through young adulthood. SettingThe Neuroimaging and Pediatric Sleep Databank was constructed from 8 research studies conducted at the University of Pittsburgh between 2009 and 2020. ParticipantsThe final sample consisted of 240 participants without current psychiatric diagnoses (9-25 years), and with good quality sleep tracking and structural MRI (sMRI) data. DesignParticipants completed a sMRI scan and 5-7 days of wrist actigraphy to assess naturalistic sleep. We examined cross-sectional associations between sMRI measures and sleep patterns, as well as the effects of age, sex, and their interaction with sMRI measures on sleep. Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s)Using Freesurfer software, we extracted cortical thickness and subcortical volumes from T1-weighted MRI. Sleep patterns (duration, timing, continuity, regularity) were estimated from wrist actigraphy. ResultsShorter sleep duration, later sleep timing, and poorer sleep continuity were associated with a stable pattern of thinner cortex and altered subcortical volumes in diverse brain regions across adolescence. In a discrete subset of regions (e.g., posterior cingulate), thinner cortex was associated with these sleep patterns from late childhood through early-to-mid adolescence, but not in late adolescence and young adulthood. Conclusions and RelevanceIn childhood and adolescence, developmentally-invariant and developmentally-specific associations exist between sleep patterns and gray matter structure, in a wide array of brain regions linked to many sensory, cognitive, and emotional processes. Sleep intervention during specific developmental periods could potentially promote healthier neurodevelopmental outcomes. KEY POINTSO_ST_ABSQuestionC_ST_ABSDoes age modulate associations between gray matter structure and actigraphic sleep patterns across adolescent development? FindingsThis cross-sectional study reports stable associations between regional gray matter structure and shorter duration, later timing, and poorer continuity of sleep from ages 9 to 25 years-old, as well as developmentally-specific associations that are present only from late childhood to early-to-mid adolescence. MeaningStronger coupling of gray matter and sleep patterns from late childhood to early-to-mid adolescence potentially implicates this discrete developmental window as a period of vulnerability to adverse sleep-brain interactions. Sleep intervention during this developmental stage may support healthier neurodevelopmental trajectories.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Developmental Influences on Symptom Expression in Antipsychotic-Naive First-Episode Psychosis

IntroductionThe neurodevelopmental model of psychosis was established over 30 years ago; however, the developmental influence on psychotic symptom expression - how a persons age affects clinical presentation in first-episode psychosis - has not been thoroughly investigated. MethodUsing generalized additive modeling, which allows for linear and non-linear functional forms of age-related change, we leveraged symptom data from a large sample of antipsychotic-naive individuals experiencing a first episode of psychosis (N=340, 12-40 years, 1-12 visits), collected at the University of Pittsburgh from 1990-2017. We examined relationships between age and severity of perceptual and non-perceptual positive symptoms and negative symptoms. We also tested for age-associated effects on change in positive or negative symptom severity following baseline assessment, and explored the time-varying relationship between perceptual and non-perceptual positive symptoms across adolescent development. ResultsIn the cross-sectional and longitudinal data, perceptual positive symptoms significantly decreased with increasing age (F=7.0, p=0.0007; q=0.003) while non-perceptual positive symptoms increased with increasing age (F=4.1, p=0.01, q=0.02). These relationships remained significant when SES, IQ, and illness duration were included as covariates. There were no developmental effects on change in positive or negative symptom severity (all p>0.25). Finally, an association between severity of non-perceptual and perceptual symptoms developed with increasing age, with a significant association starting at age 18. ConclusionThese findings suggest that as cognitive maturation proceeds, perceptual symptoms attenuate while non-perceptual symptoms are enhanced, reflecting influences of developmental processes on psychosis expression. Findings underscore how pathological brain-behavior relationships vary as a function of development.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Cognitive and default mode networks support developmental stability in functional connectome fingerprinting through adolescence

Pioneering studies have shown that individual correlation measures from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging studies can identify another scan from that same individual. This method is known as "connectotyping" or functional connectome "fingerprinting". We analyzed a unique dataset of 12-30 years old (N=140) individuals who had two distinct resting state scans on the same day and again 12-18 months later to assess the sensitivity and specificity of fingerprinting accuracy across different time scales (same day, ~1.5 years apart) and developmental periods (youths, adults). Sensitivity and specificity to identify ones own scan was high (average AUC=0.94), although it was significantly higher in the same day (average AUC=0.97) than 1.5-year years later (average AUC=0.91). Accuracy in youths (average AUC=0.93) was not significantly different from adults (average AUC=0.96). Multiple statistical methods revealed select connections from the Frontoparietal, Default, and Dorsal Attention networks that enhanced the ability to identify an individual. Identification of these features generalized across datasets and improved fingerprinting accuracy in a longitudinal replication data set (N=208). These results provide a framework for understanding the sensitivity and specificity of fingerprinting accuracy in adolescents and adults at multiple time scales. Importantly, distinct features of ones "fingerprint" contribute to ones uniqueness, suggesting that cognitive and default networks play a primary role in the individualization of ones connectome.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Altered structural brain asymmetry in autism spectrum disorder: large-scale analysis via the ENIGMA Consortium

BackgroundLeft-right asymmetry is an important organizing feature of the healthy brain. Various studies have reported altered structural brain asymmetry in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, findings have been inconsistent, likely due to limited sample sizes and low statistical power.\n\nMethodsWe investigated 1,774 subjects with ASD and 1,809 controls, from 54 datasets, for differences in the asymmetry of thickness and surface area of 34 cerebral cortical regions. We also examined global hemispheric measures of cortical thickness and area asymmetry, and volumetric asymmetries of subcortical structures. Data were obtained via the ASD Working Group of the ENIGMA (Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) consortium. T1-weighted MRI data were processed with a single protocol using FreeSurfer and the Desikan-Killiany atlas.\n\nResultsASD was significantly associated with reduced leftward asymmetry of total hemispheric average cortical thickness, compared to controls. Eight regional thickness asymmetries, distributed over the cortex, also showed significant associations with diagnosis after correction for multiple comparisons, for which asymmetry was again generally lower in ASD versus controls. In addition, the medial orbitofrontal surface area was less rightward asymmetric in ASD than controls, and the putamen volume was more leftward asymmetric in ASD than controls. The largest effect size had Cohens d = 0.15. Most effects did not depend on age, sex, IQ, or disorder severity.\n\nConclusionAltered lateralized neurodevelopment is suggested in ASD, affecting widespread cortical regions with diverse functions. Large-scale analysis was necessary to reliably detect, and accurately describe, subtle alterations of structural brain asymmetry in this disorder.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Structural brain alterations in youth with psychosis and bipolar spectrum symptoms

ObjectiveAdults with established diagnoses of serious mental illness (bipolar disorder and schizophrenia) exhibit structural brain abnormalities, yet less is known about how such abnormalities manifest earlier in development.\n\nMethodsWe analyzed the data publicly available from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC). Structural magnetic resonance neuroimaging data (sMRI) were collected on a subset of the PNC (N=989, ages 9-22 years old). We calculated measures of cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA), along with subcortical volumes. Study participants were assessed for psychiatric symptomatology via structured interview and the following groups were created: typically developing (TD, N=376), psychosis spectrum (PS, N=113), bipolar spectrum (BP, N=117), and BP + PS (N=109). We examined group and developmental differences in sMRI measures. We also examined to what extent any structural aberration was related to neurocognition, global functioning, and clinical symptomatology.\n\nResultsIn comparison to all other groups, PS youth exhibited significantly reduced SA in orbitofrontal, cingulate, precentral, and postcentral regions. PS youth also exhibited reduced thalamic volume in comparison to all other groups. Strongest effects for precentral and posterior cingulate SA reductions were seen during early adolescence (ages 13-15) in PS youth. Strongest effects for reductions in thalamic volume and orbitofrontal and postcentral SA were observed in mid-adolescence (16-18 years) in PS youth. Across groups, better overall functioning was associated with increased lateral orbitofrontal SA. Increased postcentral SA was associated with better executive cognition and less severe negative symptoms in the entire sample.\n\nConclusionIn a community-based sample, we found that reduced cortical SA and thalamic volume are present early in adolescent development in youth with psychosis spectrum symptoms, but not in youth with bipolar spectrum symptoms, or with both bipolar and psychosis spectrum symptoms. These findings point to potential biological distinctions between psychosis and bipolar spectrum conditions, which may suggest additional biomarkers relevant to early identification.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Transient patterns of functional dysconnectivity in youth with psychosis spectrum symptoms

Psychosis spectrum disorders are conceptualized as neurodevelopmental disorders accompanied by disruption of large-scale functional brain networks. Both static and dynamic dysconnectivity have been described in patients with schizophrenia and, more recently, in help-seeking individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis. Less is known, however, about developmental aspects of dynamic functional network connectivity (FNC) associated with psychotic symptoms (PS) in the general population. Here, we investigate resting state fMRI data using established dynamic FNC methods in the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (ages 8-22), including 129 participants experiencing PS and 452 participants without PS (non-PS).\n\nApplying a sliding window approach and k-means clustering, 5 dynamic states with distinct whole-brain connectivity patterns were identified. PS-associated dysconnectivity was most prominent in states characterized by synchronization or antagonism of the default mode network (DMN) and cognitive control (CC) domains. Hyperconnectivity between DMN, salience, and CC domains in PS youth only occurred in a state characterized by synchronization of the DMN and CC domains, a state that also becomes less frequent with age. However, dysconnectivity of the sensorimotor and visual systems in PS youth was revealed in other transient states completing the picture of whole-brain dysconnectivity patterns associated with PS.\n\nOverall, state-dependent dysconnectivity was observed in PS youth, providing the first evidence that disruptions of dynamic functional connectivity are present across a broader psychosis continuum.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Disruptions in White Matter Maturation and Mediation of Cognitive Development in Youth on the Psychosis Spectrum

BackgroundPsychosis onset typically occurs in adolescence, and subclinical psychotic experiences peak in adolescence as well. Adolescence is also a time of critical neural and cognitive maturation. Using cross-sectional data from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, we examine whether regional white matter (WM) development is disrupted in psychosis spectrum (PS) youth whether WM maturation mediates the relationship between age and cognition in typically developing (TD) and PS youth. A third group with intermediate symptom severity (limited PS [LPS]) was included in follow-up analyses to determine whether age-related disruptions in WM scaled with symptom severity.\n\nMethodsWe examined WM microstructure, as assessed via diffusion tensor imaging, in 707 individuals (aged 10-22 years; 499 TD, 171 PS, 37 LPS) by using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics. Multiple regressions were used to evaluate age x group interactions on regional WM indices. Mediation analyses were conducted using a bootstrapping approach.\n\nResultsThere were age x group interactions on fractional anisotropy (FA) in the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and retrolenticular internal capsule (RLIC). SLF FA mediated the relationship between age and Complex Cognition in TD, but not PS. Further, inclusion of LPS youth showed that the relationship between age and SLF FA decreased with increasing symptom severity\n\nConclusionsOur results show aberrant age-related changes in SLF and RLIC FA in PS youth. SLF development supports emergence of specific higher-order cognitive functions in TD youth, but not in PS. Future mechanistic explanations for these relationships could facilitate development of earlier and refined targets for therapeutic interventions.

neuroscience↗