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

There是理解作为治疗干预的结果而发生的大脑功能和结构重组的根本差距。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，设计更有效和高效的干预措施在很大程度上仍然没有指导。我们的长期目标是使用无创检测和监测大脑重组来指导治疗的发展和实施。本研究的目的是开发一种可靠、灵敏的脑网络可塑性磁共振成像指标，并将其应用于认知训练儿童脑网络结构重塑的研究。提出的网络方法的基本原理是，由治疗引起的大脑变化并不局限于特定的大脑区域，而是通常涉及通信途径，这是通过弥散MRI连接组学直接解决的，该方法将大脑视为大脑区域之间的结构连接网络。该研究的核心假设是，基于弥散核磁共振成像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而敏感的指标。我们将研究10-18岁的青少年在接受为期12周的注意力和情绪调节的正念冥想训练后的大脑网络变化，并根据基于计算机的注意力网络测试（ANT）将结果与行为变化联系起来。这项研究具有重要意义，因为它有望为监测治疗干预措施的效果提供一种方法，指导新干预措施的发展，并促进我们对大脑如何作为特定认知功能强化练习的功能进行重组的理解。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。

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.