Dataset Information

Empathizing associates with mean diffusivity.

ABSTRACT: Empathizing is defined as "the drive to identify another's mental states and to respond to these with an appropriate emotion" and systemizing is defined as "the drive to the drive to analyze and construct rule-based systems". While mean diffusivity (MD) has been robustly associated with several cognitive traits and disorders related with empathizing and systemizing, its direct correlation with empathizing and systemizing remains to be investigated. We undertook voxel-by-voxel investigations of regional MD to discover microstructural correlates of empathizing, systemizing, and the discrepancy between them (D score: systemizing - empathizing). Whole-brain analyses of covariance revealed that across both sexes, empathizing was positively correlated with MD of (a) an anatomical cluster that primarily spreads in the areas in and adjacent to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left anterior to the middle cingulate cortex, and left insula and (b) an anatomical cluster of the left postcentral gyrus and left rolandic operculum. The former overlaps with positive MD correlates of cooperativeness. The D score and systemizing did not show significant correlations. In conclusion, while increased MD has generally been associated with reduced neural tissues and possibly area function, higher empathizing and cooperativeness were commonly reflected by greater MD values in areas (a) that mainly overlap with areas that play a key role in emotional salience and empathy. In addition, higher empathizing was correlated with greater MD values in areas (b) that play a key role in the mirror neuron system.

SUBMITTER: Takeuchi H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6586867 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Empathizing associates with mean diffusivity.

Takeuchi Hikaru H Taki Yasuyuki Y Nouchi Rui R Yokoyama Ryoichi R Kotozaki Yuka Y Nakagawa Seishu S Sekiguchi Atsushi A Iizuka Kunio K Yamamoto Yuki Y Hanawa Sugiko S Araki Tsuyoshi T Miyauchi Carlos Makoto CM Sakaki Kohei K Sassa Yuko Y Nozawa Takayuki T Ikeda Shigeyuki S Yokota Susumu S Daniele Magistro M Kawashima Ryuta R

Scientific reports 20190620 1

Empathizing is defined as "the drive to identify another's mental states and to respond to these with an appropriate emotion" and systemizing is defined as "the drive to the drive to analyze and construct rule-based systems". While mean diffusivity (MD) has been robustly associated with several cognitive traits and disorders related with empathizing and systemizing, its direct correlation with empathizing and systemizing remains to be investigated. We undertook voxel-by-voxel investigations of r ...[more]

PMID: 31222093

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Project description:Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an important tool in the early detection of age-related and neuropathological brain changes. Recent studies suggest that changes in mean diffusivity (MD) of cortical gray matter derived from diffusion MRI scans may be useful in detecting early effects of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and that these changes may be detected earlier than alterations associated with standard structural MRI measures such as cortical thickness. Thus, due to its potential clinical relevance, we examined the genetic and environmental influences on cortical MD in middle-aged men to provide support for the biological relevance of this measure and to guide future gene association studies. It is not clear whether individual differences in cortical MD reflect neuroanatomical variability similarly detected by other MRI measures, or whether unique features are captured. For instance, variability in cortical MD may reflect morphological variability more commonly measured by cortical thickness. Differences among individuals in cortical MD may also arise from breakdowns in myelinated fibers running through the cortical mantle. Thus, we investigated whether genetic influences on variation in cortical MD are the same or different from those influencing cortical thickness and MD of white matter (WM) subjacent to the cortical ribbon. Univariate twin analyses indicated that cortical MD is heritable in the majority of brain regions; the average of regional heritability estimates ranged from 0.38 in the cingulate cortex to 0.66 in the occipital cortex, consistent with the heritability of other MRI measures of the brain. Trivariate analyses found that, while there was some shared genetic variance between cortical MD and each of the other two measures, this overlap was not complete (i.e., the correlation was statistically different from 1). A significant amount of distinct genetic variance influences inter-individual variability in cortical MD; therefore, this measure could be useful for further investigation in studies of neurodegenerative diseases and gene association studies.

Project description:Background and purposeWhole-brain network connectivity has been shown to be a useful biomarker of cerebral amyloid angiopathy and related cognitive impairment. We evaluated an automated DTI-based method, peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity, in cerebral amyloid angiopathy, together with its association with conventional MRI markers and cognitive functions.Materials and methodsWe included 24 subjects (mean age, 74.7 [SD, 6.0] years) with probable cerebral amyloid angiopathy and mild cognitive impairment and 62 patients with MCI not attributable to cerebral amyloid angiopathy (non-cerebral amyloid angiopathy-mild cognitive impairment). We compared peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity between subjects with cerebral amyloid angiopathy-mild cognitive impairment and non-cerebral amyloid angiopathy-mild cognitive impairment and explored its associations with cognitive functions and conventional markers of cerebral small-vessel disease, using linear regression models.ResultsSubjects with Cerebral amyloid angiopathy-mild cognitive impairment showed increased peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity in comparison to those with non-cerebral amyloid angiopathy-mild cognitive impairment (P < .001). Peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity values were correlated with the volume of white matter hyperintensities in both groups. Higher peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity was associated with worse performance in processing speed among patients with cerebral amyloid angiopathy, after adjusting for other MRI markers of cerebral small vessel disease. The peak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity did not correlate with cognitive functions among those with non-cerebral amyloid angiopathy-mild cognitive impairment.ConclusionsPeak width of skeletonized mean diffusivity is altered in cerebral amyloid angiopathy and is associated with performance in processing speed. This DTI-based method may reflect the degree of white matter structural disruption in cerebral amyloid angiopathy and could be a useful biomarker for cognition in this population.

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Empathizing associates with mean diffusivity.

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Empathizing associates with mean diffusivity.

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