Quantifying anatomical and behavioural variation
Brain structure varies across individuals and changes over development, ageing and experience. Our research uses quantitative imaging and statistical modelling to investigate how this variation relates to cognition, emotion and behaviour. Structural MRI and surface-based morphometry provide measurements of cortical organisation, while diffusion and other imaging methods contribute information about tissue properties and connectivity. The scientific focus is on relationships between measured features and carefully defined behavioural or physiological characteristics.
Studies of personality, resilience and adversity examine associations between cortical structure and differences in behaviour or experience. Developmental research considers how these relationships vary across stages of life, while work on neuroendocrine signalling connects physiological regulation with behavioural responses. These approaches operate at different scales, from molecular and experimental measurements to anatomical variation across participants, and require the meaning of each measurement to remain explicit.
Following change across time and modalities
Longitudinal analysis separates questions about differences between people from questions about change within the same person. Research combines repeated imaging with molecular, physiological or behavioural measurements to characterise trajectories over time. Quantitative studies of brainstem structures, tissue microstructure and glial responses provide examples of this approach. Multimodal analysis helps examine whether changes in complementary measurements describe related aspects of an underlying process.
Model development addresses heterogeneous datasets, efficient prediction and uncertainty in estimated relationships. Acquisition differences, measurement variability and the structure of repeated observations can all influence the interpretation of a longitudinal result. We therefore connect feature extraction with explicit statistical models and evaluation of their reproducibility. The purpose is to obtain a more precise account of brain–behaviour relationships and biological change, while distinguishing measured associations from stronger mechanistic interpretations that require additional evidence.
Research resources
Profiles by research interest
Publications
2026
Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience
In everyday behaviour, the ability to stop an already initiated action is critical for ensuring both your safety and that of others; for example, when stopping a reaching movement towards a hot stove-top after realising it is hot. Neuroscientific evidence points towards the critical role of several regions in the right prefrontal cortex in the coordination a…Read the full abstractCollapse abstract
In everyday behaviour, the ability to stop an already initiated action is critical for ensuring both your safety and that of others; for example, when stopping a reaching movement towards a hot stove-top after realising it is hot. Neuroscientific evidence points towards the critical role of several regions in the right prefrontal cortex in the coordination and execution of this response inhibition-specifically the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC). The present study investigated the effects of different transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) protocols on stop-signal task (SST) performance. We hypothesized that TMS over one or both of these areas would be detrimental to performance. However, contrary to our hypothesis, TMS significantly facilitated performance regardless of the stimulation condition. We applied both frequentist and Bayesian methods to assess the robustness of these effects, revealing consistent reductions in stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) across active conditions. Our results add to the growing body of results that suggest TMS effects may not be as straight-forward as usually assumed and that so-called "inhibitory protocols" can facilitate performance. This result could be explained by a shift in the signal-to-noise ratio depending on the pre-activation of the area. Put differently, TMS may have primed task-related activity in the target areas to a level that was optimal for task performance. Alternatively, the observed effect may reflect an (over)compensation by other parts of the network or disruption of competing resources. Future studies may provide further support for these hypotheses.
2026
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
Conduct disorder (CD) is the leading global cause of mental health burden in children and adolescents and has recently been hypothesized to be a neurodevelopmental disorder. Although prior research has identified neuroanatomical differences associated with CD, it remains unclear whether these differences reflect atypical brain development. Here, we investiga…Read the full abstractCollapse abstract
Conduct disorder (CD) is the leading global cause of mental health burden in children and adolescents and has recently been hypothesized to be a neurodevelopmental disorder. Although prior research has identified neuroanatomical differences associated with CD, it remains unclear whether these differences reflect atypical brain development. Here, we investigated the difference between an individual's brain age and chronological age as a proxy for variations in brain maturation. Using a pretrained model, we estimated brain age from structural neuroimaging data obtained from 1,119 youth with CD and 1,183 typically developing controls across 14 international cohorts participating in the ENIGMA-Antisocial Behavior Working Group. Youth with CD exhibited a statistically robust but small acceleration in brain age compared to typically developing youth (around 0.50 years), which was restricted to the adolescence-onset subtype of the disorder. Our large-scale, coordinated analysis provides the first evidence of accelerated neurodevelopment as a potential mechanism underlying CD.
2026
Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology
OBJECTIVE: To deepen the underlying pathophysiology of gait impairment in early-stage Parkinson's disease (PD) through a multimodal assessment, including MR-based brainstem morphometry and EEG functional connectivity (FC). METHODS: 73 PD patients and 60 healthy controls (HC) were included. The MR Parkinsonism Index (MRPI) was calculated for each subject. FC…Read the full abstractCollapse abstract
OBJECTIVE: To deepen the underlying pathophysiology of gait impairment in early-stage Parkinson's disease (PD) through a multimodal assessment, including MR-based brainstem morphometry and EEG functional connectivity (FC). METHODS: 73 PD patients and 60 healthy controls (HC) were included. The MR Parkinsonism Index (MRPI) was calculated for each subject. FC was measured using HD-EEG in θ-α-β-low-γ-high-γ bands. Partial Least Squares Path Modeling (PLS-PM) was used to explore the causal relationships between MRPI, FC, and clinical data. RESULTS: MRPI was higher in PD than HC (p = 0.001) and correlated with MDS-UPDRS-III gait subscore (r = 0.54,p < 0.001). α-FC was significantly lower in PD than HC (t = -5.4,p < 0.001). α-FC in PD was negatively correlated with both MRPI (r = -0.31,p = 0.007) and gait subscore (r = -0.31,p = 0.007). PLS-PM revealed MRPI's negative direct effect on α-FC (-0.59,p < 0.001) and significant positive total effect on gait performance (0.53,p < 0.001), partially mediated by α-FC (0.19, p = 0.006). Additionally, α-FC had a direct negative impact on gait performance (-0.33,p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: The effect of MRPI on gait performance, partially mediated by α-FC, highlights a dual pattern in which brainstem structural alterations show an association with gait impairment both directly and indirectly through their relationship with cortical functional disruptions. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings support a multimodal framework for understanding and addressing gait disorders in PD, potentially opening avenues for personalized treatment.
2024
Nutrients
INTRODUCTION: A Mediterranean diet has positive effects on the brain in mid-older adults; however, there is scarce information on pregnant individuals. We aimed to evaluate the effect of a structured Mediterranean diet intervention on the cortical structure of the maternal brain during pregnancy.
METHODS: This study was a secondary analysis of the IMPACT BC…Read the full abstractCollapse abstract
INTRODUCTION: A Mediterranean diet has positive effects on the brain in mid-older adults; however, there is scarce information on pregnant individuals. We aimed to evaluate the effect of a structured Mediterranean diet intervention on the cortical structure of the maternal brain during pregnancy.
METHODS: This study was a secondary analysis of the IMPACT BCN, a randomized clinical trial with 1221 high-risk pregnant women randomly allocated into three groups at 19-23 weeks of gestation: Mediterranean diet intervention, a mindfulness-based stress reduction program, or usual care. Maternal brain magnetic resonance imaging was performed during the third trimester of pregnancy in a random subgroup of participants. For this study, data from the Mediterranean diet and usual groups were analyzed. Maternal dietary intake, adherence to the Mediterranean diet and metabolite biomarkers were evaluated using a food frequency questionnaire, a 17-item dietary screener and plasma/urine samples, respectively.
RESULTS: The cluster-wise analysis showed that the Mediterranean diet group participants (n = 34) had significantly larger surface areas in the right precuneus (90%CI: <0.0001-0.0004, p < 0.001) and left superior parietal (90%CI: 0.026-0.033, p = 0.03) lobules compared to the usual care group participants (n = 37). A larger right precuneus area was associated with high improvements in adherence to the Mediterranean diet, a high intake of walnuts and high concentrations of urinary hydroxytyrosol. A larger left superior parietal area was associated with a high intake of walnuts and high concentrations of urinary hydroxytyrosol.
CONCLUSIONS: The promotion of a Mediterranean diet during pregnancy has a significant effect on maternal brain structure.
2024
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
Previous research on the neurobiological bases of resilience in youth has largely used categorical definitions of resilience and voxel-based morphometry methods that assess gray matter volume. However, it is important to consider brain structure more broadly as different cortical properties have distinct developmental trajectories. To address these limitatio…Read the full abstractCollapse abstract
Previous research on the neurobiological bases of resilience in youth has largely used categorical definitions of resilience and voxel-based morphometry methods that assess gray matter volume. However, it is important to consider brain structure more broadly as different cortical properties have distinct developmental trajectories. To address these limitations, we used surface-based morphometry and data-driven, continuous resilience scores to examine associations between resilience and cortical structure. Structural MRI data from 286 youths (Mage = 13.6 years, 51% female) who took part in the European multi-site FemNAT-CD study were pre-processed and analyzed using surface-based morphometry. Continuous resilience scores were derived for each participant based on adversity exposure and levels of psychopathology using the residual regression method. Vertex-wise analyses assessed for correlations between resilience scores and cortical thickness, surface area, gyrification and volume. Resilience scores were positively associated with right lateral occipital surface area and right superior frontal gyrification and negatively correlated with left inferior temporal surface area. Moreover, sex-by-resilience interactions were observed for gyrification in frontal and temporal regions. Our findings extend previous research by revealing that resilience is related to surface area and gyrification in frontal, occipital and temporal regions that are implicated in emotion regulation and face or object recognition.
Additional publications (3)
2021
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences
While Granger causality (GC) has been often employed in network neuroscience, most GC applications are based on linear multivariate autoregressive (MVAR) models. However, real-life systems like biological networks exhibit notable nonlinear behaviour, hence undermining the validity of MVAR-based GC (MVAR-GC). Most nonlinear GC estimators only cater for additi…Read the full abstractCollapse abstract
While Granger causality (GC) has been often employed in network neuroscience, most GC applications are based on linear multivariate autoregressive (MVAR) models. However, real-life systems like biological networks exhibit notable nonlinear behaviour, hence undermining the validity of MVAR-based GC (MVAR-GC). Most nonlinear GC estimators only cater for additive nonlinearities or, alternatively, are based on recurrent neural networks or long short-term memory networks, which present considerable training difficulties and tailoring needs. We reformulate the GC framework in terms of echo-state networks-based models for arbitrarily complex networks, and characterize its ability to capture nonlinear causal relations in a network of noisy Duffing oscillators, showing a net advantage of echo state GC (ES-GC) in detecting nonlinear, causal links. We then explore the structure of ES-GC networks in the human brain employing functional MRI data from 1003 healthy subjects drawn from the human connectome project, demonstrating the existence of previously unknown directed within-brain interactions. In addition, we examine joint brain-heart signals in 15 subjects where we explore directed interaction between brain networks and central vagal cardiac control in order to investigate the so-called central autonomic network in a causal manner. This article is part of the theme issue 'Advanced computation in cardiovascular physiology: new challenges and opportunities'.
2019
Brain imaging and behavior
Persistent postural perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a common functional vestibular disorder that is triggered and sustained by a complex interaction between physiological and psychological factors affecting spatial orientation and postural control. Past functional neuroimaging research and one recent structural (i.e., voxel-based morphometry-VBM) study have i…Read the full abstractCollapse abstract
Persistent postural perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a common functional vestibular disorder that is triggered and sustained by a complex interaction between physiological and psychological factors affecting spatial orientation and postural control. Past functional neuroimaging research and one recent structural (i.e., voxel-based morphometry-VBM) study have identified alterations in vestibular, visuo-spatial, and limbic brain regions in patients with PPPD and anxiety-prone normal individuals. However, no-one thus far has employed surface based morphometry (SBM) to explore whether cortical morphology in patients with PPPD differs from that of healthy people. We calculated SBM measures from structural MR images in 15 patients with PPPD and compared them to those from 15 healthy controls matched for demographics, personality traits known to confer risk for PPPD as well as anxiety and depressive symptoms that are commonly comorbid with PPPD. We tested for associations between SBM measures and dizziness severity in patients with PPPD. Relative to controls, PPPD patients showed significantly decreased local gyrification index (LGI) in multi-modal vestibular regions bilaterally, specifically the posterior insular cortices, supra-marginal gyri, and posterior superior temporal gyri (p < 0.001). Within the PPPD group, dizziness severity positively correlated with LGI in visual areas and negatively with LGI in the right superior parietal cortex. These findings demonstrate abnormal cortical folding in vestibular cortices and correlations between dizziness severity and cortical folding in visual and somatosensory spatial association areas in PPPD patients, which provides new insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this disorder.
2017
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
The five-factor model (FFM) is a widely used taxonomy of human personality; yet its neuro anatomical basis remains unclear. This is partly because past associations between gray-matter volume and FFM were driven by different surface-based morphometry (SBM) indices (i.e. cortical thickness, surface area, cortical folding or any combination of them). To overco…Read the full abstractCollapse abstract
The five-factor model (FFM) is a widely used taxonomy of human personality; yet its neuro anatomical basis remains unclear. This is partly because past associations between gray-matter volume and FFM were driven by different surface-based morphometry (SBM) indices (i.e. cortical thickness, surface area, cortical folding or any combination of them). To overcome this limitation, we used Free-Surfer to study how variability in SBM measures was related to the FFM in n = 507 participants from the Human Connectome Project.Neuroticism was associated with thicker cortex and smaller area and folding in prefrontal-temporal regions. Extraversion was linked to thicker pre-cuneus and smaller superior temporal cortex area. Openness was linked to thinner cortex and greater area and folding in prefrontal-parietal regions. Agreeableness was correlated to thinner prefrontal cortex and smaller fusiform gyrus area. Conscientiousness was associated with thicker cortex and smaller area and folding in prefrontal regions. These findings demonstrate that anatomical variability in prefrontal cortices is linked to individual differences in the socio-cognitive dispositions described by the FFM. Cortical thickness and surface area/folding were inversely related each others as a function of different FFM traits (neuroticism, extraversion and consciousness vs openness), which may reflect brain maturational effects that predispose or protect against psychiatric disorders.