A Network Approach to Study Brain Plasticity in Children with Cognitive Training

 描述（由申请人提供）：在理解治疗干预导致的大脑功能和结构重组方面存在根本性差距。这一差距的持续存在是心理健康研究中的一个重要问题，因为在填补这一差距之前，更有效和更高效的干预措施的设计将在很大程度上没有指导。我们的长期目标是使用非侵入性检测和监测大脑重组来指导治疗的开发和实施。本申请的目的是开发一种可靠且灵敏的脑网络可塑性MR成像指标，并将其应用于研究接受认知训练的儿童结构脑网络的重塑。所提出的网络方法的基本原理是，由治疗引起的大脑变化不限于特定的大脑区域，但通常涉及通信途径，这是直接通过扩散MRI连接组学来解决的，该方法将大脑视为大脑区域之间的结构连接网络。核心假设是，基于扩散MRI的大脑网络及其图形分析特性可以作为认知训练儿童可塑性的可靠和敏感的指标。本研究旨在通过对10-18岁青少年进行为期12周的正念冥想训练，观察其大脑网络的变化，并将其结果与基于计算机的注意力网络测试（ANT）的行为变化相关联。这项拟议的研究意义重大，因为它有望提供一种监测治疗干预措施疗效的方法，指导新干预措施的开发，并促进我们对大脑如何重组作为特定认知功能强化练习的功能的理解。最终，这些知识有可能为临床人群的治疗发展提供信息，例如患有注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）、抑郁症和焦虑症的儿童和青少年。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is a fundamental gap in understanding of the functional and structural reorganization of the brain that takes place as a result of therapeutic interventions. Continued existence of this gap represents an important problem in mental health research because, until it is filled, design of more effective and efficient interventions will remin largely unguided. Our long-term goal is to use non-invasive detection and monitoring of brain reorganization to guide the development and implementation of therapies. The objective in this particular application is to develop a reliable and sensitive MR imaging indicator of brain network plasticity and apply it to study the remodeling of structural brain networks in children with cognitive training. The rationale for the proposed network approach is that brain changes resulting from therapies are not confined to a specific brain region but usually involve communication pathways and this is directly addressed by diffusion MRI connectomics that treats the brain as a network of structural connections between brain regions. The central hypothesis is that diffusion MRI-based brain networks and their graph-analytic properties can serve as a reliable and sensitive indicator of plasticity in children with cognitive training. We wll study brain network changes in 10-18 year-old youths who undergo a 12-week mindfulness meditation-based training of attention and emotion regulation and correlate the results with the behavioral changes according to the computer-based Attention Network Test (ANT). The proposed research is significant, because it is expected to provide a method for monitoring the efficacy of therapeutic interventions, guide the development of new interventions, and advance our understanding of how the brain reorganizes as a function of intensive practice of specific cognitive functions. Ultimately, such knowledge has the potential to inform the development of treatment for clinical populations, such as children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression and anxiety disorders.