OBJECTIVE:Immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) is the most frequent neurological complication following chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy. Long-term cognitive effects remain controversial, even in the absence of clinical neurotoxicity. CAR-T cell-associated neurotoxicity often involves the medial temporal lobe (MTL), yet conventional structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) frequently remains normal. There is a need for markers of subclinical neurotoxicity that may predict long-term cognitive outcomes. METHODS:Therefore, we established an imaging protocol integrating 3 Tesla (T) and 7 T perfusion and functional connectivity MRI of the MTL in patients receiving CAR-T cells for B cell malignancies. Longitudinal data from four patients is presented here. RESULTS:Two of the four patients developed ICANS (grade 1 and grade 3), and these patients also experienced mild cytokine release syndrome (CRS, grade 1). No structural abnormalities of the MTL were detected at baseline or during follow-up. CAR-T cell expansion varied markedly between patients. Regardless of ICANS, CRS, or CAR-T cell expansion, patients showed increased MTL perfusion and functional connectivity, most prominently at days 10-14. CONCLUSION:These data suggest an early, clinically silent inflammatory response in the MTL with potential implications for long-term cognitive function, which requires further investigation.

Motor learning induces widespread brain changes, yet the microstructural mechanisms underlying human white matter (WM) plasticity remain poorly understood. Animal studies have identified roles for neurites, glia, and myelin, but in vivo human evidence has been limited by measurement specificity. Here, we combine multi-contrast quantitative MRI (qMRI), tractometry, and a novel multivariate analysis framework to investigate the microstructural basis of WM plasticity during motor skill learning. In a longitudinal within-subject study, 24 healthy adults completed 4 weeks of balance training following a baseline control period without training. We mapped changes across tractography-defined WM pathways using complementary qMRI markers related to tissue density, myelin, neurite architecture, and iron. Multivariate analysis revealed biologically plausible, behaviorally relevant plasticity in distributed pathways-including the cortico-ponto-cerebello-thalamo-cortical loop, anterior thalamic radiation, and corticospinal tracts-with important contributions from myelin-related metrics. Notably, we observed changes consistent with training-related modulation of the aggregate g-ratio in humans. These spatially distributed effects converged into a single latent dimension predicting neocortical plasticity, suggesting a coordinated, cross-tissue mechanism of brain adaptation. This biologically interpretable framework offers a powerful new approach for investigating WM microstructure in the contexts of plasticity, development, aging, disease, and rehabilitation.

Background MRI diffusion measures have been shown to be valuable imaging tools for assessing neuronal degeneration in vivo. In idiopathic Parkinson's disease, diffusion measures of mesencephalic nuclei appeared to correlate with disease manifestations. However, large selective cohorts are lacking to define the clinical relevance of such potential MRI biomarkers. Method This study investigates the relevance of 3 Tesla diffusion MRI of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) as a potential imaging biomarker. Experts in deep brain stimulation manually segmented the STN on T2-weighted 3 T MRI scans to create templates for measuring mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy on aligned diffusion-weighted MRI scans. Results Demographic data, including age, sex, handedness, and specifications of neurological symptoms such as motor deficit severity, were collected using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale in 130 patients at disease onset and progression. Despite a homogeneous study cohort no statistically significant correlations were found between local diffusion measures of the STN and contralateral clinical parameters. Conclusion Unlike previous studies that suggested potential correlations between mesencephalic diffusion measures and disease manifestations, this study did not confirm such associations for the subthalamic nucleus at 3 T MRI in a large and homogeneous patient cohort. In the future research might focus on patients in earlier stages of the disease and employ higher field strength MRIs with increased spatial resolution to investigate the clinical relevance of MRI diffusion measures of the STN region in Parkinson's disease.

Recent research has shown that cognitive reserve is associated with better cognitive abilities in ALS/MND, and that a slow brain ageing speed is associated with intact cognition in ALS. This study compares the effects of cognitive reserve and the predicted brain age difference (PAD) on the risk of being diagnosed with ALS, the risk of having cognitive or behavioral impairment, or even fronto-temporal dementia, and on disease duration.Our results indicated that neither PAD nor cognitive reserve was associated with an increased risk of ALS, but that higher PAD was associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairments and FTD, as well as a shortened disease duration. Higher cognitive reserve on the other hand was associated with a lower risk of cognitive impairment and a longer disease duration.Brain age as a proxy of brain reserve influences disease progression and presentation more strongly than cognitive reserve.

The human brain can show remarkable experience-induced plasticity under conditions such as aging and pathology. However, the mapping of changes provided by many imaging approaches often lacks specificity with respect to biological tissue properties, which is relevant for treatment optimization and the evaluation of health-promoting lifestyle factors. Training-induced structural changes in cortical and subcortical gray matter likely reflect a mixture of various microstructural processes. In order to non-invasively map these different microstructural contributions, we used quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) to measure clinically-relevant brain tissue property changes (such as iron, myelin, and water) in response to 4 weeks of motor balance training in 26 healthy young adults. Training resulted in a regionally-specific decrease in myelin-related magnetization transfer saturation (MT sat ) in the left frontal cortex. We also found performance-related changes in iron-sensitive transverse relaxation rate (R2*) in visual cortical (signal increase along with positive performance correlation) and limbic subcortical (signal decrease along with negative performance correlation) brain areas. Our study contributes to a growing body of literature investigating motor training-induced microstructural brain plasticity. Specifically, we provide new insights into microstructural brain changes using whole-body motor learning (balance practice) and longitudinal quantitative mapping of brain tissue properties.

Sleep onset is characterized by a departure from arousal, and can be separated into well-differentiated stages: NREM (which encompasses three substages: N1, N2 and N3) and REM (Rapid Eye Movement). Awake brain dynamics are maintained by various wake-promoting mechanisms, particularly the neuromodulators Acetylcholine (ACh) and Noradrenaline (NA), whose levels naturally decrease during the transition to sleep. The combined influence of these neurotransmitters on brain connectivity during sleep remains unclear, as previous models have examined them mostly in isolation or only in deep sleep. In this study, we analyze fMRI data obtained from healthy individuals and employ a whole-brain model to investigate how changes in brain neurochemistry during NREM sleep, specifically involving ACh and NA, affect the Functional Connectivity (FC) of the brain. FC analysis reveals distinct connectivity changes: a decrease in Locus Coeruleus (LC) connectivity with the cortex during N2 and N3, and a decrease in Basal Forebrain (BF) connectivity with the cortex during N3. Additionally, compared to Wakefulness (W), there is a transition to a more integrated state in N1 and a more segregated state in N3. Using a Wilson-Cowan whole-brain model, informed by an empirical connectome and a heterogeneous receptivity map of neuromodulators, we explored possible mechanisms underlying these dynamics. We fit the model adjusting the coupling and input-output slope of the whole-brain model to account for ACh and NA, respectively, and show that region-specific neurotransmitter effect is key to explain their effects on FC. This work enhances our understanding of neurotransmitters' roles in modulating sleep stages and their significant contribution to brain state transitions between different states of consciousness, both in health and disease.

Background Deep brain stimulation (DBS) targets grey matter structures for most clinical indications, such as the thalamic ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) to treat essential tremor (ET). Alternatively, white matter tracts like the dentatorubrothalamic tract (DRTT) in ET have been suggested to be the actual effector sites of DBS. A direct link between excitation of myelinated fibers and clinically relevant behavior, however, is missing. Here, we retrospectively analyze clinical measurements in patients assessed for VIM-DBS to test the hypothesis that tremor suppression is directly related to the fraction of DRTT-fibers recruited by DBS. Methods Tremor intensity was accelerometrically quantified at 100 different electrode contacts in 15 patients, while stimulation amplitude was systematically varied. Contact positions were located by stereotactic x-ray imaging. We determined the fraction of fibers recruited within the range of effective DBS-spread by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and probabilistic fiber tracking. Results Utilizing regression analysis, we found that the fraction of activated DRTT-fibers was linearly related to tremor suppression (F(1,592) = 451.55, p < 0.001) with a slope of 1.02 (95% confidence interval [0.93, 1.12]), i.e., relative tremor suppression matched identically the fraction of recruited DRTT-fibers. Conclusion Our results show that tremor suppression by DBS is causally related to the recruitment of DRTT-fibers and that clinically relevant behavioral effects of DBS can be already predicted from fiber densities pre-operatively. Our analysis approach would enable retrospective identification of DBS effector sites in neuropsychiatric diseases, as well as personalized prospective planning of DBS, substantially reducing intra- and post-operative clinical testing time. What is already known on this topic Previous studies have demonstrated correlations between clinical outcome in essential tremor suppression by DBS and electrode contact distance to the DRTT. In order to prove that the DRTT is the actual effector site of DBS a direct, a quantitative link between excitation of DRTT fibers and tremor suppression is required. What this study adds Our study shows that the percent tremor suppression identically matches the fraction of DRTT-fibers recruited by DBS up to a constant offset demonstrating a causal link between tremor suppression and DRTT excitation. How this study might affect research, practice or policy Our finding solves a long standing dispute and paves the way for novel network interventions through deep brain stimulation. Our analysis approach further paves the way for novel connectomic DBS-targeting strategies. It would allow for personalized prospective planning of DBS substantially reducing intra- and post-operative clinical testing time. It could also be key for the retrospective identification of novel effector sites among candidate sites in various neuropsychiatric diseases. ### Competing Interest Statement J. Voges occasionally received honoraria from Boston Scientific. There are no other conflicts of interest to declare. L. Buentjen occasionally has given educational talks for Boston Scientific, Medtronic, SJM/ Abott in the past, but none of them during the last 3 years. ### Clinical Trial DRKS00032906 ### Funding Statement This research received no external funding. CMSR received personal funding from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SW 214/2-1). ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Medical Faculty of the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg (Approval no. 25/18). I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes Raw data were generated at the University Hospital Magdeburg. Derived data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author on request. * AC-PC : anterior commissure - posterior commissure CI : confidence interval CT : computer tomography COG : center of gravity DBS : deep brain stimulation DRTT : dentatorubrothalamic tract DTI : diffusion tensor imaging ET : essential tremor IPG : implantable pulse generator PCP : posterior commissural point SEM : standard error of the mean TRS : tremor rating scale VIM : ventral intermediate nucleus

Aggression occurs across the population ranging on a symptom continuum. Most previous studies have used magnetic resonance imaging in clinical/forensic samples, which is associated with several confounding factors. The present study examined structural brain characteristics in two healthy samples differing only in their propensity for aggressive behavior. Voxel- and surface-based morphometry (SBM) analyses were performed on 29 male martial artists and 32 age-matched male controls. Martial artists had significantly increased mean gray matter volume in two frontal (left superior frontal gyrus and bilateral anterior cingulate cortex) and one parietal (bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus and precuneus) brain clusters compared to controls (whole brain: p < 0.001, cluster level: family-wise error (FWE)-corrected). SBM analyses revealed a trend for greater gyrification indices in martial artists compared to controls in the left lateral orbital frontal cortex and the left pars orbitalis (whole brain: p < 0.001, cluster level: FWE-corrected). The results indicate brain structural differences between martial artists and controls in frontal and parietal brain areas critical for emotion processing/inhibition of emotions as well as empathic processes. The present study highlights the importance of studying healthy subjects with a propensity for aggressive behavior in future structural MRI research on aggression.

We examined the association between rsFC and local neurotransmitter levels in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) and the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC) by varying rsFC-strengths at the whole-brain level. Our results showed region-dependent directionality of associations in the investigated ACC subdivisions.

The locus coeruleus (LC) in the brainstem as the main regulator of brain noradrenaline gains increasing attention because of its involvement in neurologic and psychiatric diseases and its relevance in general to brain function. In this study, we created a structural connectome of the LC nerve fibers based on in vivo MRI tractography to gain an understanding into LC connectivity and its impact on LC-related psychological measures. We combined our structural results with ultra-high field resting-state functional MRI to learn about the relationship between in vivo LC structural and functional connections. Importantly, we reveal that LC brain fibers are strongly associated with psychological measures of anxiety and alertness indicating that LC-noradrenergic connectivity may have an important role on brain function. Lastly, since we analyzed all our data in subject-specific space, we point out the potential of structural LC connectivity to reveal individual characteristics of LC-noradrenergic function on the single-subject level.

Dementia as one of the most prevalent diseases urges for a better understanding of the central mechanisms responsible for clinical symptoms, and necessitates improvement of actual diagnostic capabilities. The brainstem nucleus locus coeruleus (LC) is a promising target for early diagnosis because of its early structural alterations and its relationship to the functional disturbances in the patients. In this study, we applied our improved method of localisation-based LC resting-state fMRI to investigate the differences in central sensory signal processing when comparing functional connectivity (fc) of a patient group with mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 28) and an age-matched healthy control group (n = 29). MCI and control participants could be differentiated in their Mini-Mental-State-Examination (MMSE) scores (p < .001) and LC intensity ratio (p = .010). In the fMRI, LC fc to anterior cingulate cortex (FDR p < .001) and left anterior insula (FDR p = .012) was elevated, and LC fc to right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ, FDR p = .012) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC, FDR p = .021) was decreased in the patient group. Importantly, LC to rTPJ connectivity was also positively correlated to MMSE scores in MCI patients (p = .017). Furthermore, we found a hyperactivation of the left-insula salience network in the MCI patients. Our results and our proposed disease model shed new light on the functional pathogenesis of MCI by directing to attentional network disturbances, which could aid new therapeutic strategies and provide a marker for diagnosis and prediction of disease progression.

Multiparameter mapping (MPM) is a quantitative MRI protocol that is promising for studying microstructural brain changes in vivo with high specificity. Reliability values are an important prior knowledge for efficient study design and facilitating replicable findings in development, aging and neuroplasticity research. To explore longitudinal reliability of MPM we acquired the protocol in 31 healthy young subjects twice over a rescan interval of 4 weeks. We assessed the within-subject coefficient of variation (WCV), the between-subject coefficient of variation (BCV), and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Using these metrics, we investigated the reliability of (semi-) quantitative magnetization transfer saturation (MTsat), proton density (PD), transversal relaxation (R2*) and longitudinal relaxation (R1). To increase relevance for explorative studies in development and training-induced plasticity, we assess reliability both on local voxel- as well as ROI-level. Finally, we disentangle contributions and interplay of within- and between-subject variability to ICC and assess the optimal degree of spatial smoothing applied to the data. We reveal evidence that voxelwise ICC reliability of MPMs is moderate to good with median values in cortex (subcortical GM): MT: 0.789 (0.447) PD: 0.553 (0.264) R1: 0.555 (0.369) R2*: 0.624 (0.477). The Gaussian smoothing kernel of 2 to 4 mm FWHM resulted in optimal reproducibility. We discuss these findings in the context of longitudinal intervention studies and the application to research designs in neuroimaging field.

Age is the most important single risk factor of sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neuroimaging together with machine-learning algorithms allows estimating individuals' brain age. Deviations from normal brain-ageing trajectories (so called predicted brain age difference) were reported for a number of neuropsychiatric disorders. While all of them showed increased predicted brain-age difference, there is surprisingly few data yet on it in motor neurodegenerative diseases. In this observational study, we made use of previously trained algorithms of 3377 healthy individuals and derived predicted brain age differences from volumetric MRI scans of 112 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients and 70 healthy controls. We correlated predicted brain age difference scores with voxel-based morphometry data and multiple different motoric disease characteristics as well as cognitive/behavioural changes categorized according to Strong and Rascovsky. Against our primary hypothesis, there was no higher predicted brain-age difference in the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients as a group. None of the motoric phenotypes/characteristics influenced predicted brain-age difference. However, cognitive/behavioural impairment led to significantly increased predicted brain-age difference, while slowly progressive as well as cognitive/behavioural normal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients had even younger brain ages than healthy controls. Of note, the cognitive/behavioural normal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients were identified to have increased cerebellar brain volume as potential resilience factor. Younger brain age was associated with longer survival. Our results raise the question whether younger brain age in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with only motor impairment provides a cerebral reserve against cognitive and/or behavioural impairment and faster disease progression. This new conclusion needs to be tested in subsequent samples. In addition, it will be interesting to test whether a potential effect of cerebral reserve is specific for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or can also be found in other neurodegenerative diseases with primary motor impairment.

Introduction:The growing number of elderly people in the population is accompanied by an increased prevalence of chronic diseases, e.g.dementia, which will confront the healthcare system with major challenges in the future.Therefore, appropriate interventions are needed to support healthy aging combined with a high quality of life.The potential of the adult organism for neuronal plasticity, induced by longterm physical activity, was examined in an interdisciplinary project on aging research from neuroscientific, physiological, neuropsychological and sports science perspectives.Methods: In a longitudinal study with 20 healthy elderly people (M=72.65,SD=4.31 years) the influence of endurance and strength training as well as dance training on brain structure, BDNF, memory, balance ability and endurance performance was investigated.Measurements were performed before the start of the training phase, after 6 months, 18 months and 5 years.Structural MRI scans (FSL segmentation), blood analyses, the Verbal Learning and Memory Test (VLMT), Limits of Stability Test (LoS) and Physical Working Capacity Test 130 (PWC 130) were conducted.Results: In both groups, we observed an increased volume in the left amygdala (F(3,36) = 3.760, p = .019,f = .56),a maintenance of BDNF concentration in blood plasma, an improvement in balance ability according to LoS in terms of reaction time (F(3,42) = 6.379, p = .001,f = .67), movement velocity (F(3,42) = 4.925, p = .005,f = .59),endpoint (F(1.83,25.58) = 9.221, p = .001,f = .81),maximum dislocation (F(3,42) = 12.476, p < .001,f = .94)and direction control (F(3,42) = 6.542, p = .001,f = .68)as well as a stabilization of the performance in PWC 130. Memory performance improved significantly in the dance group with regard to recognition performance (X²(3, N=8) = 12.197, p = .007).Discussion and conclusions:The neuroplasticity effect was confirmed as a result of both training measures based on neurostructural, molecular, cognitive, coordinative zdravje starostnikov | health of the elderly 26 and conditional adaptation phenomena in the adult organism.The study showed that a long-term physically active lifestyle leads to preservation of performance and thus to a higher quality of life as well as autonomy in old age.It should be emphasized that only dance training contributed to cognitive performance enhancement.

Extensive neuroanatomical connectivity between the anterior thalamic nuclei (ATN) and hippocampus and neocortex renders them well-placed for a role in memory processing, and animal, lesion, and neuroimaging studies support such a notion. The deep location and small size of the ATN have precluded their real-time electrophysiological investigation during human memory processing. However, ATN electrophysiological recordings from patients receiving electrodes implanted for deep brain stimulation for pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy have enabled high temporal resolution study of ATN activity. Theta frequency synchronization of ATN and neocortical oscillations during successful memory encoding, enhanced phase alignment, and coupling between ATN local gamma frequency activity and frontal neocortical and ATN theta oscillations provide evidence of an active role for the ATN in memory encoding, potentially integrating information from widespread neocortical sources. Greater coupling of a broader gamma frequency range with theta oscillations at rest than during memory encoding provides additional support for the hypothesis that the ATN play a role in selecting local, task-relevant high frequency activity associated with particular features of a memory trace.

We describe a collection of T1-, diffusion- and functional T2*-weighted magnetic resonance imaging data from human individuals with albinism and achiasma. This repository can be used as a test-bed to develop and validate tractography methods like diffusion-signal modeling and fiber tracking as well as to investigate the properties of the human visual system in individuals with congenital abnormalities. The MRI data is provided together with tools and files allowing for its preprocessing and analysis, along with the data derivatives such as manually curated masks and regions of interest for performing tractography.

Background Half of all amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-frontotemporal spectrum disorder (ALS-FTSD) patients are classified as cognitively impaired, of which 10% have frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and an additional 40% suffer from a frontotemporal syndrome not severe enough to be described as dementia (cognitively impaired/ALSci). As changes in cerebral function measured by resting-state magnet resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) are known in ALS, we investigated whether group differences in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) networks could be observed between ALS patients with different cognitive profiles against healthy controls (HC). Furthermore, we correlated cognition and motor functioning with network connectivity. Methods Healthy controls, 69, and 97 ALS patients underwent functional MRI scanning and cognitive assessment. The ALS patients were categorized as non-impaired (ALSni; n = 68), cognitively impaired (ALSci; n = 21), and ALS-FTD (n = 8). Group differences in connectivity of the default mode network (DMN), motor network (MN), and ventral attention network (VAN) were investigated using a full-factorial model; correlations between global cognitive performance, shifting, and motor symptom severity were established using Pearson’s correlation. Results At a liberal alpha level of uncorrected p < 0.005 and a cluster size exceeding 20 voxels, we found widespread decreases in functional connectivity in all three networks when comparing ALS patients to HC. Similar patterns of hypoconnectivity in the bilateral motor cortices and frontotemporal emerged when comparing the ALSci and ALS-FTD patients to those not cognitively impaired. Hyperconnectivity in the DMN temporal gyrus correlated with worse global cognition; moreover, hyperconnectivity in the VAN thalamus, insula, and putamen correlated with worse shifting ability. Better-preserved motor function correlated with higher MN connectivity. Only the motor-related effects prevailed at a more conservative significance level of pFDR< 0.001. Conclusion Resting-state functional connectivity differs between cognitive profiles of ALS and is directly associated with clinical presentation, specifically with motor function, and cognitive shifting.

Zusammenfassung Wir berichten über einen 30-jährigen Patienten, der mit 21 Jahren an einer fokalen Epilepsie mit epigastrischen Auren und nicht bewusst erlebten Anfällen sowie selten bilateralen tonisch-klonischen Anfällen mit Hippocampussklerose erkrankte. Dem Patienten wurde das resektive Standardverfahren (vordere Temporallappenresektion) sowie alternativ das neu in Europa zugelassene Verfahren der stereotaktischen Laserthermoablation angeboten. Der Patient entschied sich aufgrund der geringeren Invasivität für letzteres Verfahren. Im Folgenden werden der klinische Verlauf mit einer postoperativen Nachbeobachtungszeit von 9 Monaten berichtet. Zudem wird die Methode und die Ergebnisse einer funktionellen Gedächtnis-MRT Untersuchung beschrieben.

Zusammenfassung: Wir berichten uber einen 30-jahrigen Patienten, der mit 21 Jahren an einer fokalen Epilepsie mit epigastrischen Auren und nicht bewusst erlebten Anfallen sowie selten bilateralen tonisch-klonischen Anfallen mit Hippocampussklerose erkrankte. Dem Patienten wurde das resektive Standardverfahren (vordere Temporallappenresektion) sowie alternativ das neu in Europa zugelassene Verfahren der stereotaktischen Laserthermoablation angeboten. Der Patient entschied sich aufgrund der geringeren Invasivitat fur letzteres Verfahren. Im Folgenden werden der klinische Verlauf mit einer postoperativen Nachbeobachtungszeit von 9 Monaten berichtet. Zudem wird die Methode und die Ergebnisse einer funktionellen Gedachtnis-MRT Untersuchung beschrieben. / Abstract: This article reports about a 30-year-old male patient who had suffered from a focal epilepsy with epigastric auras, unaware seizures and rarely bilateral tonic clonic seizures due to hippocampal sclerosis since the age of 21 years. The patient was offered the standard anterior temporal lobe resection and alternatively stereotactic laser thermal ablation, which recently received approval with the European CE mark. The patient opted for stereotactic laser ablation because of its less invasive nature compared to standard craniotomy and resection. This article reports the clinical course over a 9-month follow-up period. Additionally, the method and the results of a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) memory examination are summarized.

The locus coeruleus (LC) is involved in numerous crucial brain functions and several disorders like depression and Alzheimer's disease. Recently, the LC resting‐state functional connectivity (rs‐fc) has been investigated in functional MRI by calculating the blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) response extracted using Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) space masks. To corroborate these results, we aimed to investigate the LC rs‐fc at native space by improving the identification of the LC location using a neuromelanin sensitive sequence. Twenty‐five healthy male participants (mean age 24.8 ± 4.2) were examined in a Siemens MAGNETOM Prisma 3 T MRT applying a neuromelanin sensitive T1TSE sequence and functional MRI. We compared the rs‐fc of LC calculated by a MNI‐based approach with extraction of the BOLD signal at the exact individual location of the LC after applying CompCor and field map correction. As a measure of advance, a marked increase of regional homogeneity (ReHo) of time series within LC could be achieved with the subject‐specific approach. Furthermore, the methods differed in the rs‐fc to the right temporoparietal junction, which showed stronger connectivity to the LC in the MNI‐based method. Nevertheless, both methods comparably revealed LC rs‐fc to multiple brain regions including ACC, bilateral thalamus, and cerebellum. Our results are relevant for further research assessing and interpreting LC function, especially in patient populations examined at 3 T MRI.