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Resting-state networks and their relationship with MoCA performance in PD patients

2024 , Gálvez , Víctor , César Romero-Rebollar , M. Anayali Estudillo-Guerra , Juan Fernandez-Ruiz

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Longitudinal atrophy characterization of cortical and subcortical gray matter in Huntington’s disease patients

2019 , Ramírez‐García, Gabriel , Gálvez , Víctor , Diaz, Rosalinda , Bayliss, Leo , Fernandez-Ruiz, Juan , Campos‐Romo, Aurelio

Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease with clinical manifestations that involve motor, cognitive and psychiatric deficits. Cross-sectional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have described the main cortical and subcortical macrostructural atrophy of HD. However, longitudinal studies characterizing progressive atrophy are lacking. This study aimed to describe the cortical and subcortical gray matter atrophy using complementary volumetric and surface-based MRI analyses in a cohort of seventeen early HD patients in a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis and to correlate the longitudinal volumetric atrophy with the functional decline using several clinical measures. A group of seventeen healthy individuals was included as controls. After obtaining structural MRIs, volumetric analyses were performed in 36 cortical and 7 subcortical regions of interest per hemisphere and surface-based analyses were performed in the whole cortex, caudate, putamen and thalamus. Cross-sectional cortical surface-based and volumetric analyses showed significant decreases in frontoparietal and temporo-occipital cortices, while subcortical volumetric analysis showed significant decreases in all subcortical structures except the hippocampus. The longitudinal surface-based analysis showed widespread cortical thinning with volumetric decreases in the superior frontal lobe, while a subcortical volumetric decrease occurred in the caudate, putamen and thalamus with shape deformation on the anterior, medial and dorsal side. Functional capacity and motor status decline correlated with caudate progressive atrophy, while cognitive decline correlated with left superior frontal and right paracentral progressive atrophy. These results provide new insights into progressive volumetric and surface-based morphometric atrophy of gray matter in HD.

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Planning deficits in Huntington’s disease: A brain structural correlation by voxel-based morphometry

2021 , Calderon-Villalon, Jesus , Ramirez-Garcia, Gabriel , Fernandez-Ruiz, Juan , Sangri-Gil, Fernanda , Campos-Romo, Aurelio , Gálvez , Víctor , Andre Aleman

Introduction: Early Huntington’s disease (HD) patients begin to show planning deficits even before motor alterations start to manifest. Generally, planning ability is associated with the functioning of anterior brain areas such as the medial prefrontal cortex. However, early HD neuropathology involves significant atrophy in the occipital and parietal cortex, suggesting that more posterior regions could also be involved in these planning deficits. Objective: To identify brain regions associated with planning deficits in HD patients at an early clinical stage. Materials and methods: Twenty-two HD-subjects genetically confirmed with incipient clinical manifestation and twenty healthy subjects were recruited. All participants underwent MRI T1 image acquisition as well as testing in the Stockings of Cambridge (SOC) task to measure planning ability. First, group comparison of SOC measures were performed. Then, correlation voxel-based morphometry analyses were done between gray matter degeneration and SOC performance in the HD group

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Validating a brief empathy quotient test with adolescents from Mexico

2023 , Ledesma-Amaya, Luis , Galindo-Aldana, Gilberto , Gálvez , Víctor , Salvador-Cruz, Judith , Guzmán-Saldaña, Rebeca

Empathy is a skill that enables the identification with and interpretation of others' subjective experiences. The purpose of this study was to validate the Empathy Quotient (EQ) in adolescents in Mexico. A sample of 573 Mexican adolescent students (350 female and 223 male) with an age range of 12-19 years was employed (Mage= 14.8 years, SD= 1.96). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out which identified two factors, one with 16 items associated with the affective dimension and one with 13 items related to the cognitive dimension (model fit indices: GFI= .984, RMSEA= .034, and RMSR= .072). To evaluate the resultant bifactor model, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed, showing good fit indexes (RMSEA= .020, RMSR= .045, CFI= .998, GFI= .988). Regarding internal consistency, we found a McDonald's ω correlation coefficient of= .941 for the affective dimension and ω= .772 for the cognitive dimension, with p< .001. The validation of this empathy instrument will support its use as a clinical research assessment tool in Mexican adolescents. © 2023, Fundacion VECA. All rights reserved.

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What Does it Mean to Measure Mind Perception toward Robots? A Critical Review of the Main Self-Report Instruments

2024 , Gálvez , Víctor , Hanono, Esther

Although most studies that seek to measure participants’ judgments and attitudes regarding humanoid robots’ possessing (or appearing to possess) a mind or mental capacities have been based on verbal measures, there is yet no standard psychometric instrument for this end. Using a COSMIN approach, this critical review seeks to summarize the most valid and reliable self-report instruments that aim to measure mental state attribution to humanoid robots. 501 papers were reviewed, but only 11 were included, finding that: (1) The instruments do not usually measure mental state attribution toward robots as an exclusive phenomenon but as a factor associated with the tendency to anthropomorphize non-human entities; (2) There is a lack of consensus regarding a definition of mental state attribution and the psychometric dimensions that underlie it; (3) The tendency to anthropomorphize does not by itself imply the attribution of mind to robots. In our discussion, we delve into the general problem of mind perception/attribution and speculate on the possible theoretical basis for a multifactorial model for measuring mind perception as part of a broader phenomenon we term “psycheidolia.” © 2024 Springer Nature

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Resting-state networks and their relationship with MoCA performance in PD patients

2024-01-01 , Gálvez , Víctor , Romero-Rebollar, César , Estudillo-Guerra, M. Anayali , Fernandez-Ruiz, Juan

Although mild cognitive impairment is a common non-motor symptom experienced by individuals with Parkinson’s Disease, the changes in intrinsic resting-state networks associated with its onset in Parkinson’s remain underexamined. To address the issue, our study sought to examine resting-state network alterations and their association with total performance in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and its cognitive domains in Parkinson’s by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging of 29 Parkinson’s patients with normal cognition, 25 Parkinson’s patients with mild cognitive impairment, and 13 healthy controls. To contrast the Parkinson’s groups with each other and the controls, the images were used to estimate the Z-score coefficient between the regions of interest from the default mode network, the salience network and the central executive network. Our first finding was that default mode and salience network connectivity decreased significantly in Parkinson’s patients regardless of their cognitive status. Additionally, default mode network nodes had a negative and salience network nodes a positive correlation with the global assessment in Parkinson’s with normal cognition; this inverse relationship of both networks to total score was not found in the group with cognitive impairment. Finally, a positive correlation was found between executive scores and anterior and posterior cortical network connectivity and, in the group with cognitive impairment, between language scores and salience network connectivity. Our results suggest that specific resting-state networks of Parkinson’s patients with cognitive impairment differ from those of Parkinson’s patients with normal cognition, supporting the evidence that cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s Disease displays a differentiated neurodegenerative pattern. ©Springer

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Cognitive follow-up in anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis: Hospital discharge, 4, 8, and 12 months

2023 , Bayliss, Leo , Moctezuma Sandoval, Andrea , Nava, Alan , Diaz-Victoria, Ana Ruth , Espinola-Nadurille, Mariana , Ramírez-Bermúdez, Jesús , Gálvez , Víctor

Introduction: Cognitive dysfunction is a core symptom in patients with Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor encephalitis (ANMDARE). In stark contrast to the good functional (neurological) outcome observed in most ANMDARE patients (81%) after 18 months of hospital discharge, 80% of patients exhibit moderate or severe cognitive impairment even two years after the acute phase. Despite clinical features during the recovery phase having been widely characterized, our understanding of cognitive recovery during the first year remains incomplete since most reports have cross-sectional study designs or small sample sizes in which the administered neuropsychological tests and follow-up times (when available) are heterogeneous. To sum up the main cognitive reports, neuropsychological cross-sectional studies have revealed deficits related to attention, language, visuospatial function, and episodic and working memory. Nevertheless, longitudinal and systematic neuropsychological assessments reveal a wider picture. According to a recent study of 43 ANMDARE patients, moderate or severe cognitive impairments persisted for an average 2.3 years after onset, mainly in memory and executive function domains. Significant improvements were observed in neuropsychological performance after 4.9 years, but 2/3 of patients still had moderate to severe deficits despite favorable neurological outcomes. However, this approach does not provide information on the evolution of cognitive functions until 2 years after the acute stage. Therefore, detailed cognitive outcomes during the first year are still lacking. We aim to describe the cognitive outcomes in ANMDARE patients through a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment at hospital discharge as well as after 4, 8, and 12 months.

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Is brain perfusion correlated to switching mood states and cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder type I? A longitudinal study using perfusion imaging approach

2023 , Estudillo-Guerra, Maria Anayali , Linnman, Clas , Gálvez , Víctor , Chapa-Koloffon, Gina , Pacheco-Barrios, Kevin , Morales-Quezada, Leon , Flores Ramos, Monica

Type I Bipolar disorder (BD-I) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by manic or mixed-featured episodes, impaired cognitive functioning, and persistent work and social functioning impairment. This study aimed to investigate within-subject; (i) differences in brain perfusion using Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) between manic and euthymic states in BD-I patients; (ii) explore potential associations between altered brain perfusion and cognitive status; and (iii) examine the relationship between cerebral perfusion and mania symptom ratings. Seventeen adult patients diagnosed with BD-I in a manic episode were recruited, and clinical assessments, cognitive tests, and brain perfusion studies were conducted at baseline (mania state) and a follow-up visit 6 months later. The results showed cognitive impairment during the manic episode, which persisted during the euthymic state at follow-up. However, no significant changes in brain perfusion were observed between the manic and euthymic states. During mania, trends toward decreased perfusion in the left cerebellum and right superior parietal lobule were noted. Additionally, trends indicated a higher perfusion imbalance in the left superior and middle frontal gyrus during mania and the right superior and middle frontal gyrus during euthymia. No significant correlations existed between brain perfusion, mania symptom ratings, and cognitive performance, indicating that symptomatology might represent more than neural hemodynamics. These findings suggest that cognitive impairment may persist in BD-I patients and highlight the need for therapeutic interventions targeting cognitive deficits. More extensive studies with extended follow-up periods are warranted further to investigate brain perfusion and cognitive functioning in BD-I patients.

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Motor and cognitive impairments in spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 and its correlations with cortical volumes

2018 , Chirino, Amanda , Hernandez‐Castillo, Carlos R. , Gálvez , Víctor , Contreras, Anabel , Diaz, Rosalinda , Beltran‐Parrazal, Luis , Fernandez-Ruiz, Juan

Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 7 (SCA7) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeat expansion. It is clinically characterized by ataxia and visual loss. To date, little is known about SCA7 cognitive impairments and its relationship with grey matter volume (GMV) changes. The aim of this study was to explore SCA7 patients' performance in specific components of auditory-verbal neuropsychological tests and to correlate their scores with genetic mutation, severity of ataxia and GMV. We assessed verbal memory and verbal fluency proficiencies in 31 genetically confirmed SCA7 patients, and compared their results with 32 healthy matched volunteers; we also correlated CAG repeats and severity of motor symptoms with performance in the auditory-verbal tests. SCA7 patients exhibited deficiencies in several components of these cognitive tasks, which were independent of motor impairments and showed no relation to CAG repeats. Based on Resonance Images performed in 27 patients we found association between ataxia severity and GMV in "sensoriomotor" cerebellum, as well as correlations of impaired verbal memory and semantic fluency scores with GMV in association cortices, including the right parahippocampal gyrus. To our knowledge, this is the first report of deficits in the organization of semantic information and in the evocation of verbal material, as well as greater susceptibility to proactive interference in SCA7 patients. These findings bring novel information about specific cognitive abilities in SCA7 patients, particularly verbal memory and fluency, and their relation with GMV variations in circumscribed brain regions, including association cortices known to have functional relationships with the cerebellum.

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Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) performance in Huntington’s disease patients correlates with cortical and caudate atrophy

2022 , Ramirez-Garcia, Gabriel , Gálvez , Víctor , Diaz, Rosalinda , Campos-Romo, Aurelio , Fernandez-Ruiz, Juan

Huntington's Disease (HD) is an autosomal neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms. Cognitive impairment develops gradually in HD patients, progressing later into a severe cognitive dysfunction. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a brief screening test commonly employed to detect mild cognitive impairment, which has also been useful to assess cognitive decline in HD patients. However, the relationship between MoCA performance and brain structural integrity in HD patients remains unclear. Therefore, to explore this relationship we analyzed if cortical thinning and subcortical nuclei volume differences correlated with HD patients' MoCA performance. Twenty-two HD patients and twenty-two healthy subjects participated in this study. T1-weighted images were acquired to analyze cortical thickness and subcortical nuclei volumes. Group comparison analysis showed a significantly lower score in the MoCA global performance of HD patients. Also, the MoCA total score correlated with cortical thinning of fronto-parietal and temporo-occipital cortices, as well as with bilateral caudate volume differences in HD patients. These results provide new insights into the effectiveness of using the MoCA test to detect cognitive impairment and the brain atrophy pattern associated with the cognitive status of prodromal/early HD patients.