Heidi Johansen-Berg

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• Friedman, Barbara Bodorkos; Suri, Sana; Sole-Padulles, Cristina; Düzel, Sandra; Drevon, Christian A & Baaré, William F. C. [Show all 16 contributors for this article] (2019). Are People Ready for Personalized Brain Health? Perspectives of Research Participants in the Lifebrain Consortium. The gerontologist. ISSN 0016-9013. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnz155. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background and Objectives A healthy brain is central to physical and mental well-being. In this multi-site, qualitative study, we investigated views and attitudes of adult participants in brain research studies on the brain and personalized brain health as well as interest in maintaining a healthy brain. Design and Methods We conducted individual interviews with 44 adult participants in brain research cohorts of the Lifebrain consortium in Spain, Norway, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and coded using a cross-country codebook. The interview data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Most participants did not focus on their own brain health and expressed uncertainty regarding how to maintain it. Those actively focusing on brain health often picked one specific strategy like diet or memory training. The participants were interested in taking brain health tests to learn about their individual risk of developing brain diseases, and were willing to take measures to maintain their brain health if personalized follow-up was provided and the measures had proven impact. The participants were interested in more information on brain health. No differences in responses were identified between age groups, sex, or countries. Discussion and Implications Concise, practical, personalized, and evidence-based information about the brain may promote brain health. Based on our findings, we have launched an ongoing global brain health survey to acquire more extensive, quantitative, and representative data on public perception of personalized brain health.

• Smith, Steve; Duff, Eugene; Groves, Adrian; Nichols, Thomas E.; Jbabdi, Saad & Westlye, Lars Tjelta [Show all 12 contributors for this article] (2019). Structural variability in the human brain reflects fine-grained functional architecture at the population level. Journal of Neuroscience. ISSN 0270-6474. 39(31), p. 6136–6149. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2912-18.2019. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Human brain structure topography is thought to be related in part to functional specialization. However, the extent of such relationships is unclear. Here, using a data-driven, multimodal approach for studying brain structure across the lifespan (N = 484, n = 260 females), we demonstrate that numerous structural networks, covering the entire brain, follow a functionally meaningful architecture. These gray matter networks (GMNs) emerge from the covariation of gray matter volume and cortical area at the population level. We further reveal fine-grained anatomical signatures of functional connectivity. For example, within the cerebellum, a structural separation emerges between lobules that are functionally connected to distinct, mainly sensorimotor, cognitive and limbic regions of the cerebral cortex and subcortex. Structural modes of variation also replicate the fine-grained functional architecture seen in eight well defined visual areas in both task and resting-state fMRI. Furthermore, our study shows a structural distinction corresponding to the established segregation between anterior and posterior default-mode networks (DMNs). These fine-grained GMNs further cluster together to form functionally meaningful larger-scale organization. In particular, we identify a structural architecture bringing together the functional posterior DMN and its anticorrelated counterpart. In summary, our results demonstrate that the relationship between structural and functional connectivity is fine-grained, widespread across the entire brain, and driven by covariation in cortical area, i.e. likely differences in shape, depth, or number of foldings. These results suggest that neurotrophic events occur during development to dictate that the size and folding pattern of distant, functionally connected brain regions should vary together across subjects.

• Krogsrud, Stine Kleppe; Fjell, Anders Martin; Tamnes, Christian Krog; Grydeland, Håkon; Due-Tønnessen, Paulina & Bjørnerud, Atle [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2018). Development of white matter microstructure in relation to verbal and visuospatial working memory - A longitudinal study. PLOS ONE. 13:e0195540(4), p. 1–22. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195540. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Working memory capacity is pivotal for a broad specter of cognitive tasks and develops throughout childhood. This must in part rely on development of neural connections and white matter microstructure maturation, but there is scarce knowledge of specific relations between this and different aspects of working memory. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) enables us to study development of brain white matter microstructure. In a longitudinal DTI study of 148 healthy children between 4 and 11 years scanned twice with an on average 1.6 years interval, we characterized change in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean (MD), radial (RD) and axial diffusivity (AD) in 10 major white matter tracts hypothesized to be of importance for working memory. The results showed relationships between change in several tracts and change in visuospatial working memory. Specifically, improvement in visuospatial working memory capacity was significantly associated with decreased MD, RD and AD in inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF) and uncinate fasciculus (UF) in the right hemisphere, as well as forceps major (FMaj). No significant relationships were found between change in DTI metrics and change in verbal working memory capacity. These findings yield new knowledge about brain development and corresponding working memory improvements in childhood.

• Lange, Ann-Marie Glasø de; Bråthen, Anne Cecilie Sjøli; Grydeland, Håkon; Sexton, Claire; Johansen-Berg, Heidi & Andersson, Jesper L.R. [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2016). White-matter integrity as a marker for cognitive plasticity in aging. Neurobiology of Aging. ISSN 0197-4580. 47, p. 74–82. doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2016.07.007. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Age-related differences in white matter (WM) integrity are substantial, but it is unknown whether between-subject variability in WM integrity influences the capacity for cognitive improvement. We investigated the effects of memory training related to active and passive control conditions in older adults and tested whether WM integrity at baseline was predictive of training benefits. We hypothesized that (1) memory improvement would be restricted to the training group, (2) widespread areas would show greater mean diffusivity (MD) and lower fractional anisotropy in older adults relative to young adults, and (3) within these areas, variability in WM microstructure in the older group would be predictive of training gains. The results showed that only the group receiving training improved their memory. Significant age differences in MD and fractional anisotropy were found in widespread areas. Within these areas, voxelwise analyses showed a negative relationship between MD and memory improvement in 3 clusters, indicating that WM integrity could serve as a marker for the ability to adapt in response to cognitive challenges in aging.

• Krogsrud, Stine Kleppe; Fjell, Anders Martin; Tamnes, Christian Krog; Grydeland, Håkon; Ferschmann, Lia & Due-Tønnessen, Paulina [Show all 11 contributors for this article] (2015). Changes in white matter microstructure in the developing brain - A longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging study of children from 4 to 11years of age. NeuroImage. ISSN 1053-8119. 124, p. 473–486. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.09.017. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The purpose of the present study was to detail the childhood developmental course of different white matter (WM) characteristics. In a longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study of 159 healthy children between 4 and 11 years scanned twice, we used tract-based spatial statistics as well as delineation of 15 major WM tracts to characterize the regional pattern of change in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean (MD), radial (RD) and axial diffusivity (AD). We tested whether there were decelerations of change with increasing age globally and tract-wise, and also illustrated change along medial-to-lateral, posterior-to-anterior and inferior-to-superior gradients. We found a significant linear increase in global FA, and decrease in MD and RD over time. For mean AD, a weak decrease was observed. The developmental changes in specific WM tracts showed regional differences. Eight WM tracts showed non-linear development patterns for one or several DTI metrics, with a deceleration in change with age. Sex did not affect change in any DTI metric. Overall, greater rate of change was found in the left hemisphere. Spatially, there was a posterior-to-anterior gradient of change with greater change in frontal regions for all metrics. The current study provides a comprehensive characterization of the regional patters of change in WM microstructure across pre-adolescence childhood.

• Walhovd, Kristine B; Johansen-Berg, Heidi & Karadottir, Ragnhildur (2014). Unraveling the secrets of white matter - Bridging the gap between cellular, animal and human imaging studies. Neuroscience. ISSN 0306-4522. 276, p. 2–13. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.06.058. Full text in Research Archive
• Sexton, Claire E; Walhovd, Kristine B; Storsve, Andreas Berg; Tamnes, Christian Krog; Westlye, Lars Tjelta & Johansen-Berg, Heidi [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2014). Accelerated changes in white matter microstructure during aging: A longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging study. Journal of Neuroscience. ISSN 0270-6474. 34(46), p. 15425–15436. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0203-14.2014. Full text in Research Archive
• Douaud, Gwenaëlle; Groves, Adrian; Tamnes, Christian Krog; Westlye, Lars Tjelta; Duff, Eugene & Engvig, Andreas [Show all 14 contributors for this article] (2014). A common brain network links development, aging, and vulnerability to disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). ISSN 0027-8424. 111(49), p. 17648–17653. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1410378111. Full text in Research Archive
• Sexton, Claire E; Storsve, Andreas Berg; Walhovd, Kristine B; Johansen-Berg, Heidi & Fjell, Anders Martin (2014). Poor Sleep Quality is Associated With Increased Cortical Atrophy in Community-Dwelling Adults. Neurology. ISSN 0028-3878. 83(11), p. 967–973. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000000774. Full text in Research Archive

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