PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
In a segregated society, marked by a historical background of inequalities, there is a consistent under-representation of ethnic and racial minorities in biomedical research, causing disparities in understanding genetic and acquired diseases as well as in the effectiveness of clinical treatments affecting different groups. The repeated inclusion of small and non-representative samples of the population in neuroimaging research has led to generalization bias in the morphological characterization of the human brain. A few brain morphometric studies between Whites and African Americans have reported differences in orbitofrontal volumetry and insula cortical thickness. Nevertheless, these studies are mostly conducted in small samples and populations with cognitive impairment. For this reason, this study aimed to identify brain morphological variability due to racial identity in representative samples. We hypothesized that, in neurotypical young adults, there are differences in brain morphometry between participants with distinct racial identities. We analyzed the Human Connectome Project (HCP) database to test this hypothesis. Brain volumetry, cortical thickness, and cortical surface area measures of participants identified as Whites (n = 338) or African Americans (n = 56) were analyzed. Non-parametrical permutation analysis of covariance between these racial identity groups adjusting for age, sex, education, and economic income was implemented. Results indicated volumetric differences in choroid plexus, supratentorial, white matter, and subcortical brain structures. Moreover, differences in cortical thickness and surface area in frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital brain regions were identified between groups. In this regard, the inclusion of sub-representative minorities in neuroimaging research, such as African American persons, is fundamental for the comprehension of human brain morphometric diversity and to design personalized clinical brain treatments for this population.
摘要：
在一个种族隔离的社会里，以不平等的历史背景为标志，在生物医学研究中，族裔和种族少数群体的代表性一直不足，在理解遗传和获得性疾病以及影响不同群体的临床治疗的有效性方面造成差异。在神经影像学研究中反复纳入人口的小样本和非代表性样本，导致了人脑形态学表征的泛化偏差。白人和非裔美国人之间的一些大脑形态计量学研究报告了眶额容积和脑岛皮质厚度的差异。然而，这些研究大多在小样本和认知障碍人群中进行。出于这个原因,这项研究的目的是确定大脑的形态变异，由于种族认同的代表性样本。我们假设，在神经典型的年轻人中，具有不同种族身份的参与者之间的大脑形态测量存在差异。我们分析了HumanConnectomeProject(HCP)数据库来检验这一假设。脑容积测量,皮质厚度,并对确定为白人(n=338)或非裔美国人(n=56)的参与者的皮质表面积测量进行了分析。调整年龄的这些种族身份群体之间的协方差的非参数排列分析，性别,教育,实现了经济收入。结果表明脉络丛的体积差异，幕上,白质,和皮质下脑结构。此外，额叶皮质厚度和表面积的差异，顶叶,temporal,并在组间鉴定出枕部脑区。在这方面,将次代表性少数民族纳入神经影像学研究，比如非裔美国人，是理解人脑形态多样性和为该人群设计个性化临床脑部治疗的基础。
