ORCID Profile
0000-0001-9345-2126
Current Organisation
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
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Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 28-11-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.11.22.22282598
Abstract: Schizotypy represents an index of psychosis-proneness in the general population often associated with childhood trauma exposure. Both schizotypy and childhood trauma are linked to structural brain alterations, and it is possible that trauma exposure moderates the extent of brain morphological differences associated with schizotypy. We addressed this question using data from a total of 1,182 healthy adults (age range: 18-65 years old, 647 females/535 males), pooled from nine sites worldwide, contributing to the Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) Schizotypy working group. All participants completed both the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire Brief version (SPQ-B), and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and underwent a 3D T1-weighted brain MRI scan from which regional indices of subcortical grey matter volume and cortical thickness were determined. A series of multiple linear regressions revealed that differences in cortical thickness in four regions-of-interest were significantly associated with interactions between schizotypy and trauma subsequent moderation analyses indicated that increasing levels of schizotypy were associated with thicker left caudal anterior cingulate gyrus, right middle temporal gyrus and insula, and thinner left caudal middle frontal gyrus, in people exposed to higher (but not low or average) levels of childhood trauma. This was found in the context of thicker bilateral medial orbitofrontal gyri, right rostral anterior cingulate gyrus, left temporal pole, left insula, and thinner left paracentral lobule directly associated with increasing levels of schizotypy. In addition, thinner left postcentral, superior parietal and lingual gyri, as well as thicker left caudal middle frontal gyrus and smaller left thalamus and right caudate were associated with increasing levels of childhood trauma exposure. These results suggest that alterations in brain regions critical for higher cognitive and integrative processes that are associated with schizotypy may be enhanced in in iduals exposed to high levels of trauma.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIOPSYCH.2022.02.959
Abstract: Morphology of the human cerebral cortex differs across psychiatric disorders, with neurobiology and developmental origins mostly undetermined. Deviations in the tangential growth of the cerebral cortex during pre erinatal periods may be reflected in in idual variations in cortical surface area later in life. Interregional profiles of group differences in surface area between cases and controls were generated using T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging from 27,359 in iduals including those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and high general psychopathology (through the Child Behavior Checklist). Similarity of interregional profiles of group differences in surface area and prenatal cell-specific gene expression was assessed. Across the 11 cortical regions, group differences in cortical area for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, and Child Behavior Checklist were dominant in multimodal association cortices. The same interregional profiles were also associated with interregional profiles of (prenatal) gene expression specific to proliferative cells, namely radial glia and intermediate progenitor cells (greater expression, larger difference), as well as differentiated cells, namely excitatory neurons and endothelial and mural cells (greater expression, smaller difference). Finally, these cell types were implicated in known pre erinatal risk factors for psychosis. Genes coexpressed with radial glia were enriched with genes implicated in congenital abnormalities, birth weight, hypoxia, and starvation. Genes coexpressed with endothelial and mural genes were enriched with genes associated with maternal hypertension and preterm birth. Our findings support a neurodevelopmental model of vulnerability to mental illness whereby prenatal risk factors acting through cell-specific processes lead to deviations from typical brain development during pregnancy.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 12-05-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.05.11.491482
Abstract: Blinks occur frequently in normal life and have increasingly been linked to perceptual and cognitive effects. However, the oculomechanics of blink-related eye movements are much less researched than other types of eye movements. While it has been observed that the eye is being pulled back into its socket during a blink, possibly due to co-contraction of extraocular muscles, this elusive eye motion has not been studied in detail due to the technical difficulties that go along with a closed eyelid. Here we use dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to obtain videos of this motion and analyse the kinematics with the recently developed MREyeTrack algorithm. We show that the eye is not only retracted but also lifted up during a blink. For some participants we observed eyeball lifting by up to 3 mm, far exceeding the amount of translation believed to occur during natural eye movements. Slow blinks can be accompanied by large tonic rotations of up to 15°. Furthermore, we collected evidence that the co-contraction of extraocular muscles leads to a slight compression of the eyeball. These findings demonstrate the surprising complexity of ocular motility and offer new opportunities to study orbital mechanics in health and disease.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2021
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 20-10-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2008
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 15-05-2018
Abstract: Left–right asymmetry is a key feature of the human brain's structure and function. It remains unclear which cortical regions are asymmetrical on average in the population and how biological factors such as age, sex, and genetic variation affect these asymmetries. Here, we describe by far the largest-ever study of cerebral cortical asymmetry, based on data from 17,141 participants. We found a global anterior–posterior “torque” pattern in cortical thickness, together with various regional asymmetries at the population level, which have not been previously described, as well as effects of age, sex, and heritability estimates. From these data, we have created an online resource that will serve future studies of human brain anatomy in health and disease.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 31-08-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41380-018-0228-9
Abstract: Bipolar disorders (BDs) are among the leading causes of morbidity and disability. Objective biological markers, such as those based on brain imaging, could aid in clinical management of BD. Machine learning (ML) brings neuroimaging analyses to in idual subject level and may potentially allow for their diagnostic use. However, fair and optimal application of ML requires large, multi-site datasets. We applied ML (support vector machines) to MRI data (regional cortical thickness, surface area, subcortical volumes) from 853 BD and 2167 control participants from 13 cohorts in the ENIGMA consortium. We attempted to differentiate BD from control participants, investigated different data handling strategies and studied the neuroimaging/clinical features most important for classification. In idual site accuracies ranged from 45.23% to 81.07%. Aggregate subject-level analyses yielded the highest accuracy (65.23%, 95% CI = 63.47–67.00, ROC-AUC = 71.49%, 95% CI = 69.39–73.59), followed by leave-one-site-out cross-validation (accuracy = 58.67%, 95% CI = 56.70–60.63). Meta-analysis of in idual site accuracies did not provide above chance results. There was substantial agreement between the regions that contributed to identification of BD participants in the best performing site and in the aggregate dataset (Cohen’s Kappa = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.829–0.831). Treatment with anticonvulsants and age were associated with greater odds of correct classification. Although short of the 80% clinically relevant accuracy threshold, the results are promising and provide a fair and realistic estimate of classification performance, which can be achieved in a large, ecologically valid, multi-site s le of BD participants based on regional neurostructural measures. Furthermore, the significant classification in different s les was based on plausible and similar neuroanatomical features. Future multi-site studies should move towards sharing of raw/voxelwise neuroimaging data.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-09-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41380-018-0236-9
Abstract: Neuroticism has been shown to act as an important risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD). Genetic and neuroimaging research has independently revealed biological correlates of neurotic personality including cortical alterations in brain regions of high relevance for affective disorders. Here we investigated the influence of a polygenic score for neuroticism (PGS) on cortical brain structure in a joint discovery s le of n = 746 healthy controls (HC) and n = 268 MDD patients. Findings were validated in an independent replication s le (n = 341 HC and n = 263 MDD). Subgroup analyses stratified for case-control status and analyses of associations between neurotic phenotype and cortical measures were carried out. PGS for neuroticism was significantly associated with a decreased cortical surface area of the inferior parietal cortex, the precuneus, the rostral cingulate cortex and the inferior frontal gyrus in the discovery s le. Similar associations between PGS and surface area of the inferior parietal cortex and the precuneus were demonstrated in the replication s le. Subgroup analyses revealed negative associations in the latter regions between PGS and surface area in both HC and MDD subjects. Neurotic phenotype was negatively correlated with surface area in similar cortical regions including the inferior parietal cortex and the precuneus. No significant associations between PGS and cortical thickness were detected. The morphometric overlap of associations between both PGS and neurotic phenotype in similar cortical regions closely related to internally focused cognition points to the potential relevance of genetically shaped cortical alterations in the development of neuroticism.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-10-2020
DOI: 10.1002/HBM.25249
Abstract: The hippoc us consists of anatomically and functionally distinct subfields that may be differentially involved in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD). Here we, the Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta‐Analysis Bipolar Disorder workinggroup, study hippoc al subfield volumetry in BD. T1‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans from 4,698 in iduals (BD = 1,472, healthy controls [HC] = 3,226) from 23 sites worldwide were processed with FreeSurfer. We used linear mixed‐effects models and mega‐analysis to investigate differences in hippoc al subfield volumes between BD and HC, followed by analyses of clinical characteristics and medication use. BD showed significantly smaller volumes of the whole hippoc us (Cohen's d = −0.20), cornu ammonis (CA)1 ( d = −0.18), CA2/3 ( d = −0.11), CA4 ( d = −0.19), molecular layer ( d = −0.21), granule cell layer of dentate gyrus ( d = −0.21), hippoc al tail ( d = −0.10), subiculum ( d = −0.15), presubiculum ( d = −0.18), and hippoc al amygdala transition area ( d = −0.17) compared to HC. Lithium users did not show volume differences compared to HC, while non‐users did. Antipsychotics or antiepileptic use was associated with smaller volumes. In this largest study of hippoc al subfields in BD to date, we show widespread reductions in nine of 12 subfields studied. The associations were modulated by medication use and specifically the lack of differences between lithium users and HC supports a possible protective role of lithium in BD.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.BIOPSYCH.2009.11.004
Abstract: Accumulating evidence suggests the involvement of inflammatory processes and cytokines in particular in the pathophysiology of major depression (MDD) and resistance to antidepressant treatment. Furthermore, amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) responsiveness to emotional stimuli has been suggested as a predictor of treatment response. This study investigated the association between genetic variants of the interleukin 1 beta (IL1B) gene and amygdala and ACC responsiveness to emotional stimuli and response to antidepressant treatment. In this analysis, 256 Caucasian patients with MDD (145 women, 111 men) were genotyped for variants rs16944, rs1143643, and rs1143634 in the IL1B gene (2q14). Response to antidepressant treatment over 6 weeks was defined as remission ( 50% decrease on Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression-21-question). Brain activity under visual presentation of emotional faces was assessed in a subs le of 32 depressed patients by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T. Pharmacogenetic analyses show significant associations of the GG genotypes of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs16944 (odds ratio = 1.74 95% confidence interval 1.2-4.3) and rs1143643 (odds ratio = 3.1 95% confidence interval 1.3-7.8) (compared with the AA genotype) with nonremission after 6 weeks. The imaging analyses show that the number of G-alleles in both SNPs (rs16944 and rs1143643) was associated with reduced responsiveness of the amygdala and ACC to emotional stimulation. The present study suggests a negative effect of the IL1B gene on pharmacological response and amygdala and ACC function involving the same genotypes of two SNPs (rs16944, rs116343), which taken together increase the risk of nonremission over 6 weeks of antidepressant treatment in MDD.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 08-2013
DOI: 10.1017/S1461145711001659
Abstract: Dysfunction of dopamine D3 receptors, particularly in the mesocorticolimbic system, has been linked to the pathogenesis of major depression. Preclinical data show enhanced D3 receptor binding in the striatum upon antidepressant medication and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Thus, the potential impact of dopamine D3 receptor gene (DRD3) variation on ECT outcome in treatment-resistant major depression was evaluated by applying a combined molecular and imaging genetic approach. Altogether, 10 representative variants covering 95.4% of DRD3 gene variation were investigated for association with response to ECT in a s le of 104 (71 female, 33 male) Caucasian patients with pharmacorefractory major depression. Additionally, ventral striatum responsiveness to happy faces was assessed in two independent s les of depressed patients (total N=54) by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T. Significant association of DRD3 rs3732790, rs3773679 and rs9817063 variants with response (uncorrected p=0.02–0.03) and remission (uncorrected p=0.01) after ECT was discerned. Logistic regression analyses revealed association of rs3732790 (uncorrected p=0.009 corrected p=0.045) and rs3773679 (uncorrected p=0.009 corrected p=0.045) with remission when applying a recessive model of inheritance. The rs3732790T allele conferring a more favourable treatment response was furthermore found to be associated with stronger striatal responsiveness to happy facial expressions (s le 1: cluster-corrected p=0.002 s le 2: p=0.023). In summary, the present study suggests some impact of DRD3 gene variation on ECT response, potentially mediated by alteration of striatal engagement during the processing of emotionally rewarding stimuli.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-08-2019
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-08-2020
DOI: 10.1002/HBM.25154
Abstract: The problem of poor reproducibility of scientific findings has received much attention over recent years, in a variety of fields including psychology and neuroscience. The problem has been partly attributed to publication bias and unwanted practices such as p ‐hacking. Low statistical power in in idual studies is also understood to be an important factor. In a recent multisite collaborative study, we mapped brain anatomical left–right asymmetries for regional measures of surface area and cortical thickness, in 99 MRI datasets from around the world, for a total of over 17,000 participants. In the present study, we revisited these hemispheric effects from the perspective of reproducibility. Within each dataset, we considered that an effect had been reproduced when it matched the meta‐analytic effect from the 98 other datasets, in terms of effect direction and significance threshold. In this sense, the results within each dataset were viewed as coming from separate studies in an “ideal publishing environment,” that is, free from selective reporting and p hacking. We found an average reproducibility rate of 63.2% ( SD = 22.9%, min = 22.2%, max = 97.0%). As expected, reproducibility was higher for larger effects and in larger datasets. Reproducibility was not obviously related to the age of participants, scanner field strength, FreeSurfer software version, cortical regional measurement reliability, or regional size. These findings constitute an empirical illustration of reproducibility in the absence of publication bias or p hacking, when assessing realistic biological effects in heterogeneous neuroscience data, and given typically‐used s le sizes.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-04-2014
DOI: 10.1038/MP.2014.39
Abstract: In two large genome-wide association studies, an intergenic single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP rs7294919) involved in TESC gene regulation has been associated with hippoc us volume. Further characterization of neurobiological effects of the TESC gene is warranted using multimodal brain-wide structural and functional imaging. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM8) was used in two large, well-characterized s les of healthy in iduals of West-European ancestry (Münster s le, N=503 SHIP-TREND, N=721) to analyze associations between rs7294919 and local gray matter volume. In subs les, white matter fiber structure was investigated using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and limbic responsiveness was measured by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during facial emotion processing (N=220 and N=264, respectively). Furthermore, gene x environment (G × E) interaction and gene x gene interaction with SNPs from genes previously found to be associated with hippoc al size (FKBP5, Reelin, IL-6, TNF-α, BDNF and 5-HTTLPR/rs25531) were explored. We demonstrated highly significant effects of rs7294919 on hippoc al gray matter volumes in both s les. In whole-brain analyses, no other brain areas except the hippoc al formation and adjacent temporal structures were associated with rs7294919. There were no genotype effects on DTI and fMRI results, including functional connectivity measures. No G × E interaction with childhood maltreatment was found in both s les. However, an interaction between rs7294919 and rs2299403 in the Reelin gene was found that withstood correction for multiple comparisons. We conclude that rs7294919 exerts highly robust and regionally specific effects on hippoc al gray matter structures, but not on other neuropsychiatrically relevant imaging markers. The biological interaction between TESC and RELN pointing to a neurodevelopmental origin of the observed findings warrants further mechanistic investigations.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 25-08-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.08.24.505091
Abstract: Vision requires that we rotate our eyes frequently to look at informative structures in the scene. Eye movements are planned by the brain but their execution depends on the mechanical properties of the oculomotor plant, i.e, the arrangement of eyeball position, muscle insertions and pulley locations. Therefore, the biomechanics of rotations is sensitive to eyeball translation because it changes muscle levers. Eyeball translations are little researched as they are difficult to measure with conventional techniques. Here we study the effects of eyeball translation on the coordination of gaze rotation by high-speed MRI recordings of saccadic eye movements during blinks, which are known to produce strong translations. We found that saccades during blinks massively overshoot their targets, and that these overshoots occur in a transient fashion such that the eye is back on target at the time the blink ends. These dynamic overshoots were tightly coupled to the eyeball translation, both in time and in size. Saccades made without blinks were also accompanied by small amounts of transient eyeball retraction, the size of which scaled with saccade litude. These findings demonstrate the complex interaction between rotation and translation movements of the eye. The mechanical consequences of eyeball translation on oculomotor control should be considered along with the neural implementation in the brain to understand the generation of eye movements and their disorders.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-09-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41380-022-01734-0
Abstract: Identifying brain alterations associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) in young people is critical to understanding their development and improving early intervention and prevention. The ENIGMA Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviours (ENIGMA-STB) consortium analyzed neuroimaging data harmonized across sites to examine brain morphology associated with STBs in youth. We performed analyses in three separate stages, in s les ranging from most to least homogeneous in terms of suicide assessment instrument and mental disorder. First, in a s le of 577 young people with mood disorders, in which STBs were assessed with the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). Second, in a s le of young people with mood disorders, in which STB were assessed using different instruments, MRI metrics were compared among healthy controls without STBs (HC N = 519), clinical controls with a mood disorder but without STBs (CC N = 246) and young people with current suicidal ideation (N = 223). In separate analyses, MRI metrics were compared among HCs (N = 253), CCs (N = 217), and suicide attempters (N = 64). Third, in a larger transdiagnostic s le with various assessment instruments (HC = 606 CC = 419 Ideation = 289 HC = 253 CC = 432 Attempt=91). In the homogeneous C-SSRS s le, surface area of the frontal pole was lower in young people with mood disorders and a history of actual suicide attempts (N = 163) than those without a lifetime suicide attempt (N = 323 FDR-p = 0.035, Cohen's d = 0.34). No associations with suicidal ideation were found. When examining more heterogeneous s les, we did not observe significant associations. Lower frontal pole surface area may represent a vulnerability for a (non-interrupted and non-aborted) suicide attempt however, more research is needed to understand the nature of its relationship to suicide risk.
Location: No location found
No related grants have been discovered for Jochen Bauer.