Pirwani Atiqa F, Fang Zhuo, Li Bo, Smith Andra, Northoff Georg, Ismail Nafissa
Neuroimmunology, Stress and Endocrinology (NISE) Lab, Faculty of Social Science, School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Int J Dev Neurosci. 2020 Oct;80(6):477-488. doi: 10.1002/jdn.10044. Epub 2020 Jun 23.
Previous neuroimaging studies have examined the association between changes in brain structure and gastrointestinal symptoms (GIS), seen in disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Irritable Bowel Disease. Studies in adults have found changes in white and grey matter volume (GMV) in patients with various gastrointestinal disorders. However, it is unclear whether GIS-related structural changes in the brain are limited to adults or could be present throughout the lifespan. Given that gastrointestinal disorders are typically diagnosed between 4 and 18 years old, we investigated GIS-induced morphological changes in pre-adolescents (8-10), adolescents (12-16 years) and young adults (17-21 years). Using a voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis, we compared regional grey matter volume (GMV) between participants with GIS and controls, using structural brain images from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC) database. A total of 211 participants (107 participants with GISs and 104 control participants) who had undergone structural magnetic resonance imaging were analysed. VBM analysis was used to objectively analyse GMV across the whole brain and compare between participants with GIS and controls. Participants experiencing GIS showed smaller GMV in regions within the limbic system/basal ganglia (bilateral caudate, bilateral ventral hippocampus, bilateral amygdala and bilateral superior orbital frontal cortex), and larger GMV in regions within the pain-matrix (thalamus, bilateral putamen, right mid-frontal gyrus) compared to controls. These differences were most prominent in the adolescent and young adult groups compared to pre-adolescents. In conclusion, the structural differences found in participants with GIS support the need for further research into the neurophysiological impact of these symptoms.
先前的神经影像学研究已经探讨了脑结构变化与胃肠道症状（GIS）之间的关联，这些症状见于肠易激综合征和炎症性肠病等疾病。针对成年人的研究发现，患有各种胃肠道疾病的患者白质和灰质体积（GMV）出现了变化。然而，尚不清楚与GIS相关的脑结构变化是否仅限于成年人，还是可能在整个生命周期中都存在。鉴于胃肠道疾病通常在4至18岁之间被诊断出来，我们调查了GIS在青春期前儿童（8 - 10岁）、青少年（12 - 16岁）和青年成年人（17 - 21岁）中引起的形态学变化。我们使用基于体素的形态计量学（VBM）分析，利用来自费城神经发育队列（PNC）数据库的脑结构图像，比较了患有GIS的参与者与对照组之间的局部灰质体积（GMV）。总共对211名接受过结构磁共振成像的参与者（107名患有GIS的参与者和104名对照参与者）进行了分析。VBM分析用于客观分析全脑的GMV，并比较患有GIS的参与者与对照组之间的差异。与对照组相比，经历GIS的参与者在边缘系统/基底神经节区域（双侧尾状核、双侧腹侧海马体、双侧杏仁核和双侧眶额上皮质）的GMV较小，而在疼痛矩阵区域（丘脑、双侧壳核、右侧额中回）的GMV较大。与青春期前儿童相比，这些差异在青少年和青年成年人组中最为明显。总之，在患有GIS的参与者中发现的结构差异支持了对这些症状的神经生理影响进行进一步研究的必要性。
