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Multimodal neuroimaging studies have recently become a trend in the neuroimaging field and are certainly a standard for the future. Brain connectivity studies combining functional activation patterns using resting-state or task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography have growing popularity. However, there is a scarcity of solutions to perform optimized, intuitive, and consistent multimodal fMRI/DTI studies. Here we propose a new tool, brain connectivity analysis tool (BrainCAT), for an automated and standard multimodal analysis of combined fMRI/DTI data, using freely available tools. With a friendly graphical user interface, BrainCAT aims to make data processing easier and faster, implementing a fully automated data processing pipeline and minimizing the need for user interv...

Of the five personality dimensions described by the Big Five Personality Model (Costa and McCrae 1992), Extraversion and Agreeableness are the traits most commonly associated with a pro-social orientation. In this study we tested whether a pro-social orientation, as expressed in terms of Extraversion and Agreeableness, is associated with a specific grey matter phenotype. Fifty-two healthy participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and completed the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), a self-report measure of the Big Five personality traits. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to investigate the correlation between brain structure and the personality traits of Agreeableness and Extraversion. We found that Extraversion was negatively correlated with grey matter density in the middle frontal and orbitofrontal gyri while A...

Resting state brain networks (RSNs) are spatially distributed large-scale networks, evidenced by resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Importantly, RSNs are implicated in several relevant brain functions and present abnormal functional patterns in many neuropsychiatric disorders, for which stress exposure is an established risk factor. Yet, so far, little is known about the effect of stress in the architecture of RSNs, both in resting state conditions or during shift to task performance. Herein we assessed the architecture of the RSNs using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a cohort of participants exposed to prolonged stress (participants that had just finished their long period of preparation for the medical residence selection exam), and respective gender- and age-matched controls (medical...

Chronic stress has been widely reported to have deleterious impact in multiple biological systems. Specifically, structural and functional remodeling of several brain regions following prolonged stress exposure have been described; importantly, some of these changes are eventually reversible. Recently, we showed the impact of stress on resting state networks (RSNs), but nothing is known about the plasticity of RSNs after recovery from stress. Herein, we examined the “plasticity” of RSNs, both at functional and structural levels, by comparing the same individuals before and after recovery from the exposure to chronic stress; results were also contrasted with a control group. Here we show that the stressed individuals after recovery displayed a decreased resting functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN), ventral attention...