Marvin Petersen

Happy to share Lacuna, an open-source Python toolbox for brain lesion analysis. If you have lesion segmentation data (e.g., for infarcts, tumors) and want to know which brain regions and circuits it links to, it's built for you. lacuna-py.readthedocs.io #neuroskyence #OHBM2026

For now the toolbox largely focusses on lesion network mapping, but it's built to grow, and a GUI is planned. Though built with lesions in mind, it works with any binary mask in MNI space, e.g. a ROI from fMRI, VBM or PET.

Happy to share Lacuna, an open-source Python toolbox for brain lesion analysis. If you have lesion segmentation data (e.g., for infarcts, tumors) and want to know which brain regions and circuits it links to, it's built for you. lacuna-py.readthedocs.io #neuroskyence #OHBM2026

Some highlights are: Pipeline-like command line interface • You only need a lesion mask in MNI; no patient-level fMRI or dMRI required • Easy fetching of normative connectomes (GSP1000, HCP1065, dTOR985) • Custom atlas support • BIDS-style I/O • Provenance tracking • Docker/Apptainer containers

Happy to share Lacuna, an open-source Python toolbox for brain lesion analysis. If you have lesion segmentation data (e.g., for infarcts, tumors) and want to know which brain regions and circuits it links to, it's built for you. lacuna-py.readthedocs.io #neuroskyence #OHBM2026

Think of Lacuna as feature extraction tool covering multiple approaches evaluating lesion topology: • Focal damage (parcel atlas overlap) • Functional lesion network mapping • Structural lesion network mapping / disconnection mapping. In the documentation you can find tutorials on each.

New paper out in @jimd-editors.bsky.social. In children with CLN2 disease — a form of childhood dementia — we show that brain atrophy on MRI tracks each child's clinical decline, making brain scans a promising tool to monitor treatment of this devastating, ultra-rare disorder. #pediatrics

Notably, the atrophy wasn't uniform — it concentrated in the brain's most connected hub regions, the high-traffic areas with the greatest metabolic demand. This offers a clue as to why certain regions are especially vulnerable in CLN2. #neuroskyence

New paper out in @jimd-editors.bsky.social. In children with CLN2 disease — a form of childhood dementia — we show that brain atrophy on MRI tracks each child's clinical decline, making brain scans a promising tool to monitor treatment of this devastating, ultra-rare disorder. #pediatrics

Across the cohort, brain atrophy was severe. The changes were often visible on the scans by eye, even between visits only 6 months apart — an indication of how quickly the disease progresses in affected children.

New paper out in @jimd-editors.bsky.social. In children with CLN2 disease — a form of childhood dementia — we show that brain atrophy on MRI tracks each child's clinical decline, making brain scans a promising tool to monitor treatment of this devastating, ultra-rare disorder. #pediatrics

There's now an enzyme therapy (cerliponase alfa) that can slow CLN2. But clinicians lack objective tools to track how the disease and treatment progress in each child, beyond clinical observation. That gap is what we set out to address.

New paper out in @jimd-editors.bsky.social. In children with CLN2 disease — a form of childhood dementia — we show that brain atrophy on MRI tracks each child's clinical decline, making brain scans a promising tool to monitor treatment of this devastating, ultra-rare disorder. #pediatrics

New paper out in The Lancet @ebiomedicine.bsky.social on the oral–brain axis 🦷🧠. Does the bacterial community living in our gum pockets relate to brain health? In 1,026 people from the population-based PAROMIND cohort, we show the answer is yes. 🧵 #neuroskyence #microbiome #dementia

In a non-demented population this points to oral health as an accessible, modifiable target — for early risk assessment and potentially prevention. Limitation: cross-sectional, reverse pathways (poorer cognition → worse oral hygiene) stay plausible. We will work on longitudinal data next.

New paper out in The Lancet @ebiomedicine.bsky.social on the oral–brain axis 🦷🧠. Does the bacterial community living in our gum pockets relate to brain health? In 1,026 people from the population-based PAROMIND cohort, we show the answer is yes. 🧵 #neuroskyence #microbiome #dementia

A covariate-adjusted group comparison (age, sex, education, vascular risk) confirmed the pathogenic group had worse periodontal status, higher leukocytes, lower cognition & lower MIND-diet adherence.

New paper out in The Lancet @ebiomedicine.bsky.social on the oral–brain axis 🦷🧠. Does the bacterial community living in our gum pockets relate to brain health? In 1,026 people from the population-based PAROMIND cohort, we show the answer is yes. 🧵 #neuroskyence #microbiome #dementia

The network organized itself along a continuous periodontal pathogenicity gradient — from periodontitis-associated taxa (Porphyromonas, Fusobacterium, Treponema) at one pole to lower-pathogenicity taxa (Streptococcus, Rothia, Neisseria) at the other.

New paper out in The Lancet @ebiomedicine.bsky.social on the oral–brain axis 🦷🧠. Does the bacterial community living in our gum pockets relate to brain health? In 1,026 people from the population-based PAROMIND cohort, we show the answer is yes. 🧵 #neuroskyence #microbiome #dementia

Periodontitis-associated bacteria are thought to drive systemic inflammation and neurodegeneration, and have been linked to dementia. Yet evidence in non-demented, population-based samples (the stage where prevention matters most) has been scarce. In this study, we address this gap.