Brain Res Bull. 2023 Oct 15:203:110771. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2023.110771.Epub 2023 Oct 4.

Jennifer Kornelsen ¹, Theresa McIver ², Md Nasir Uddin ³, Chase R Figley ⁴, Ruth Ann Marrie ⁵, Ronak Patel ⁶, John D Fisk ⁷, Sean Carter ⁸, Lesley Graff ⁶, Erin L Mazerolle ⁹, Charles N Bernstein ¹⁰; Comorbidity and Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis (CCOMS) Study Group

Author information

¹Department of Radiology, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Neuroscience Research Program, Kleysen Institute for Advanced Medicine, Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; University of Manitoba IBD Clinical and Research Centre, Winnipeg, MB, Canada. Electronic address: Jennifer.Kornelsen@umanitoba.ca.

²Department of Radiology, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; University of Manitoba IBD Clinical and Research Centre, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Department of Internal Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

³Department of Radiology, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Department of Neurology, School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States.

⁴Department of Radiology, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Neuroscience Research Program, Kleysen Institute for Advanced Medicine, Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

⁵Department of Internal Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Department of Community Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

⁶Department of Clinical Health Psychology, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

⁷Nova Scotia Health and Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, and Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

⁸Department of Internal Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

⁹Department of Psychology, Computer Science, and Biology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.

¹⁰University of Manitoba IBD Clinical and Research Centre, Winnipeg, MB, Canada; Department of Internal Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), is characterized by inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and is a disorder of the brain-gut axis. Neuroimaging studies of brain function and structure have helped better understand the relationships between the brain, gut, and comorbidity in IBD. Studies of brain structure have primarily employed voxel-based morphometry to measure grey matter volume and surface-based morphometry to measure cortical thickness. Far fewer studies have employed other surface-based morphometry metrics such as gyrification, cortical complexity, and sulcal depth. In this study, brain structure differences between 72 adults with IBD and 90 healthy controls were assessed using all five metrics. Significant differences were found for cortical thickness with the IBD group showing extensive left-lateralized thinning, and for cortical complexity with the IBD group showing greater complexity in the left fusiform and right posterior cingulate. No significant differences were found in grey matter volume, gyrification, or sulcal depth. Within the IBD group, a post hoc analysis identified that disease duration is associated with cortical complexity of the right supramarginal gyrus, albeit with a more lenient threshold applied.

Keywords: Brain structure; Cortical complexity; Cortical thickness; Crohn’s disease; IBD; Inflammatory bowel disease; Surface-based morphometry; Ulcerative colitis; Voxel-based morphometry.