The macro-social and environmental conditions in which people live, such as the level of a country’s development or inequality, are associated with brain-related disorders. However, the relationship between these systemic environmental factors and the brain remains unclear. We aimed to determine the association between the level of development and inequality of a country and the brain structure of healthy adults.

We conducted a cross-sectional study pooling brain imaging (T1-based) data from 145 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in 7,962 healthy adults (4,110 women) in 29 different countries. We used a meta-regression approach to relate the brain structure to the country’s level of development and inequality.

Higher human development was consistently associated with larger hippocampi and more expanded global cortical surface area, particularly in frontal areas. Increased inequality was most consistently associated with smaller hippocampal volume and thinner cortical thickness across the brain.

Our results suggest that the macro-economic conditions of a country are reflected in its inhabitants’ brains and may explain the different incidence of brain disorders across the world. The observed variability of brain structure in health across countries should be considered when developing tools in the field of personalized or precision medicine that are intended to be used across the world.

The choroid plexus produces cerebrospinal fluid, which is crucial for glymphatic system function. Evidence suggests that changes in the volume of the choroid plexus may be associated with glymphatic system function. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate alterations in choroid plexus volume in patients with migraines compared with healthy controls.

We enrolled 59 patients with migraines (39 and 20 with episodic and chronic migraines, respectively) and 61 healthy controls. All participants underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging, including three-dimensional T1-weighted imaging. We analyzed and compared choroid plexus volumes between patients with episodic migraines, those with chronic migraines and healthy controls. Additionally, we evaluated the association between choroid plexus volume and the clinical characteristics of patients with migraine.

The choroid plexus volume in patients with chronic migraines was higher than that in healthy controls (2.018 vs. 1.698%, p = 0.002) and patients with episodic migraines (2.018 vs. 1.680%, p = 0.010). However, no differences were observed in choroid plexus volumes between patients with episodic migraine and healthy controls. Choroid plexus volume was positively correlated with age in patients with migraines (r = 0.301, p = 0.020) and in healthy controls (r = 0.382, p = 0.002).

We demonstrated significant enlargement of the choroid plexus in patients with chronic migraine compared with healthy controls and those with episodic migraine. This finding suggests that chronic migraine may be associated with glymphatic system dysfunction.

Prior studies suggest that childhood maltreatment is associated with altered hippocampal volume. However, longitudinal studies are currently scarce, making it difficult to determine how alterations in hippocampal volume evolve over time. The current study examined the relationship between childhood maltreatment and hippocampal volumetric development across childhood and adolescence in a community sample.

In this longitudinal study, a community sample of 795 participants underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in three waves spanning ages 6–21 years. Childhood maltreatment was assessed using parent-report and children´s self-report at baseline (6–12 years old). Mixed models were used to examine the relationship between childhood maltreatment and hippocampal volume across time.

The quadratic term of age was significantly associated with both right and left hippocampal volume development. High exposure to childhood maltreatment was associated with reduced offset of right hippocampal volume and persistent reduced volume throughout adolescence.

Critically, the relationship between childhood maltreatment and reduced right hippocampal volume remained significant after adjusting for the presence of any depressive disorder during late childhood and adolescence and hippocampal volume polygenic risk scores. Time-by-CM and Sex-by-CM interactions were not statistically significant.

The present study showed that childhood maltreatment is associated with persistent reduction of hippocampal volume in children and adolescents, even after adjusting for the presence of major depressive disorder and genetic determinants of hippocampal structure.

Reading difficulties (RD) frequently co-occur with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and children with both RD + ADHD often demonstrate greater challenges in reading and executive functions (EF) than those with RD-only.

This study examined the effect of a 4-week EF-based reading intervention on behavioral and neurobiological correlates of EF among 8–12 y.o. English-speaking children with RD + ADHD (n = 19), RD-only (n = 18), and typically developing children (n = 18). Behavioral and resting-state fMRI data were collected from all participants before and after 4 weeks of the EF-based reading computerized program. Group (RD + ADHD, RD-only, typical readers) x Test (pre- and post-intervention) repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted for reading, EF, and brain functional connectivity (FC) measures.

Across groups, reading (fluency, comprehension) and EF (inhibition, speed of processing) behavioral performance improved following the intervention. Exploratory subgroup comparisons revealed that children with RD + ADHD, but not RD-only, showed significant gains in reading comprehension, whereas inhibition improved in both RD groups, but not among typical readers. Furthermore, across groups, FC between the frontoparietal (FP) and cingulo-opercular (CO) networks decreased following the intervention. Exploratory subgroup comparisons revealed that children with RD + ADHD, but not RD-only, showed a significant decrease in FC of FP-CO and FP-dorsal attention network.

These results support the differential response to an EF-based reading intervention of children with RD with and without comorbid ADHD at brain and behavioral levels.

Both childhood adversity (CA) and first-episode psychosis (FEP) have been linked to alterations in cortical thickness (CT). The interactive effects between different types of CAs and FEP on CT remain understudied.

One-hundred sixteen individuals with FEP (mean age = 23.8 ± 6.9 years, 34% females, 80.2% non-affective FEP) and 98 healthy controls (HCs) (mean age = 24.4 ± 6.2 years, 43% females) reported the presence/absence of CA <17 years using an adapted version of the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse (CECA.Q) and the Retrospective Bullying Questionnaire (RBQ) and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Correlation analyses were used to assess associations between brain maps of CA and FEP effects. General linear models (GLMs) were performed to assess the interaction effects of CA and FEP on CT.

Eighty-three individuals with FEP and 83 HCs reported exposure to at least one CA. CT alterations in FEP were similar to those found in participants exposed to separation from parents, bullying, parental discord, household poverty, and sexual abuse (r = 0.50 to 0.25). Exposure to neglect (β = −0.24, 95% CI [−0.37 to −0.12], p = 0.016) and overall maltreatment (β = −0.13, 95% CI [−0.20 to −0.06], p = 0.043) were associated with cortical thinning in the right medial orbitofrontal region.

Cortical alterations in individuals with FEP are similar to those observed in the context of socio-environmental adversity. Neglect and maltreatment may contribute to CT reductions in FEP. Our findings provide new insights into the specific neurobiological effects of CA in early psychosis.

To compare structural alterations in the brains of Meige syndrome (MS) patients with those of healthy controls (HCs) by using surface-based morphometry (SBM) and compare structural differences between the brains of MS patients with sleep disorders and those of MS patients without sleep disorders.

We investigated cortical surface parameters in 42 MS patients and 30 HCs. T1-weighted images were acquired and processed using CAT12 to perform vertexwise between-group comparisons of cortical thickness, gyrification, cortical complexity and sulcus depth with validated quality control protocols. We also performed SBM to analyze data from 19 patients with sleep disorders and 23 patients without sleep disorders.

Compared with HCs, MS patients had differences in large clusters of cortical regions, especially in postcentral, precentral, superior frontal and paracentral thickness. Differences were also observed in the parietal and occipital areas. Among MS patients with and without sleep disorders, altered cortical complexity and sulcal depth were observed.

This study strongly suggested that MS patients have cortical structural abnormalities compared with HCs, thus elucidating the underlying pathophysiology of motor and nonmotor symptoms in MS patients.

Being married may protect late-life cognition. Less is known about living arrangement among unmarried adults and mechanisms such as brain health (BH) and cognitive reserve (CR) across race and ethnicity or sex/gender. The current study examines (1) associations between marital status, BH, and CR among diverse older adults and (2) whether one’s living arrangement is linked to BH and CR among unmarried adults.

Cross-sectional data come from the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (N = 778, 41% Hispanic, 33% non-Hispanic Black, 25% non-Hispanic White; 64% women). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of BH included cortical thickness in Alzheimer’s disease signature regions and hippocampal, gray matter, and white matter hyperintensity volumes. CR was residual variance in an episodic memory composite after partialing out MRI markers. Exploratory analyses stratified by race and ethnicity and sex/gender and included potential mediators.

Marital status was associated with CR, but not BH. Compared to married individuals, those who were previously married (i.e., divorced, widowed, and separated) had lower CR than their married counterparts in the full sample, among White and Hispanic subgroups, and among women. Never married women also had lower CR than married women. These findings were independent of age, education, physical health, and household income. Among never married individuals, living with others was negatively linked to BH.

Marriage may protect late-life cognition via CR. Findings also highlight differential effects across race and ethnicity and sex/gender. Marital status could be considered when assessing the risk of cognitive impairment during routine screenings.

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and clinical impact of utilizing low-field portable MRI in a remote setting in Canada.

This was a single-site prospective cohort study. An ultra-low-field (0.064 T) portable MRI was installed in Weeneebayko General Hospital, Moose Factory, Ontario. Adults presenting with any indication for neuroimaging between November 2021 and June 2023 were eligible for study inclusion. Clinical presentation, indication for imaging,and radiology report turnaround time were recorded. Images were evaluated for diagnostic quality, and radiology reports were analyzed to determine the diagnostic utility of ultra-low-field MRI.

An ultra-low-field portable MRI was successfully installed in a remote Canadian location. Fifty patients received a portable MRI scan. Comments on suboptimal image quality were made for 12 (24%) of the portable MRI examinations; however, only 2 (4%) of these were deemed nondiagnostic requiring conventional imaging for further evaluation. Clinically significant pathology was identified in 5 (10%) of the examinations.

This first-of-its-kind study demonstrates the application of ultra-low-field portable MRI in a remote setting in Canada is feasible and offers clinical information that may help triage which patients require transfer to a center with conventional high-field MRI availability.

Theoretical and empirical contributions have identified insula as key in addiction. However, anatomical modifications of the insula in addictive states, and their variations across substance use disorders (SUDs), remain to be specifically explored. We therefore explored the specificities and commonalities of insula gray matter (GM) alterations in severe alcohol use disorder (sAUD) and severe cocaine use disorder (sCUD).

We explored insula GM volume through a refined parcellation in 12 subregions (six bilateral): anterior inferior cortex (AIC), anterior short gyrus, middle short gyrus, posterior short gyrus, anterior long gyrus (ALG), and posterior long gyrus (PLG). Using a linear mixed model analysis, we explored the insula volume profiles of 50 patients with sAUD, 61 patients with sCUD, and 36 healthy controls (HCs).

In both sAUD and sCUD, we showed overall insular lower volume with a right-sided lateralization effect, and a major volume deficit in bilateral ALG. Moreover, differences emerged across groups, with higher left AIC and PLG volume deficits in sCUD compared to sAUD and HC.

We offered the first joint exploration of GM insular volumes in two SUD through refined parcellation, thus unveiling the similarities and dissimilarities in volume deficit profiles. Our results bring evidence complementing prior ones suggesting the core role of the right and posterior insula in craving and interoception, two crucial processes in addiction. Left AIC and PLG group differences also show that, while insula is a region of interest in SUD, sCUD and sAUD generate distinct insular profiles, which might parallel clinical differences across SUD.

The functional roles of ventricular dominance and additional ventricular chamber after Fontan operation are still uncertain. We aim to assess and correlate such anatomical features to late clinical outcomes.

Fontan patients undergoing cardiac MRI and cardiopulmonary exercise test between January 2020 and December 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical, cardiac MRI, and cardiopulmonary exercise test data from the last follow-up were analysed.

Fifty patients were analysed: left dominance was present in 29 patients (58%, median age 20 years, interquartile range:16–26). At a median follow-up after the Fontan operation was 16 years (interquartile range: 4–42), NYHA classes III and IV was present in 3 patients (6%), 4 (8%) underwent Fontan conversion, 2 (4%) were listed for heart transplantation, and 2 (4%) died. Statistical analysis showed that the additional ventricular chamber was larger (>20 mL/m2) in patients with a right dominant ventricle (p = 0.01), and right dominance was associated with a higher incidence of post-operative low-cardiac output syndrome (p = 0.043). Left ventricular dominance was associated with a better ejection fraction (p = 0.04), less extent of late gadolinium enhancement (p = 0.022), higher metabolic equivalents (p = 0.01), and higher peak oxygen consumption (p = 0.033). A larger additional ventricular chamber was associated with a higher need for post-operative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support (p = 0.007), but it did not influence functional parameters on cardiac MRI or cardiopulmonary exercise test.

In Fontan patients, left ventricular dominance correlated to better functional outcomes. Conversely, a larger additional ventricular chamber is more frequent in right ventricular dominance and can negatively affect the early post-Fontan course.