showing 10 related works from this author
Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the right hemisphere improves auditory comprehension in a case of dementia.
2017
Background Noninvasive transcranial stimulation methods have been increasingly employed in order to improve cognitive performance in neurological patients. In previous studies with both stroke patients and healthy subjects, noninvasive stimulation of temporal-parietal regions and their homologue produced an improvement in linguistic tasks. Objective The aim of the current study was to evaluate if anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over Brodmann areas 39/40 (angular and supramarginal gyri) could promote the recovery of linguistic functions, in particular comprehension and naming, in a single patient affected by dementia. Methods Three preliminary explorative single session…
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation over the Right Inferior Parietal Cortex Reduces Transposition Errors in a Syllabic Reordering Task
2021
Evidence derived from functional imaging and brain-lesion studies has shown a strong left lateralization for language, and a complementary right hemisphere dominance for visuospatial abilities. Nevertheless, the symmetrical functional division of the two hemispheres gives no reason for the complexity of the cognitive operations involved in carrying out a linguistic task. In fact, a growing number of neuroimaging and neurostimulation studies suggest a possible right hemisphere involvement in language processing. The objective of this work was to verify the contribution of the left and right parietal areas in a phonological task. We applied anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS…
Temporal stability and representational distinctiveness: Key functions of orthographic working memory
2011
A primary goal of working memory research has been to understand the mechanisms that permit working memory systems to effectively maintain the identity and order of the elements held in memory for sufficient time as to allow for their selection and transfer to subsequent processing stages. Based on the performance of two individuals with acquired dysgraphia affecting orthographic working memory (WM; the graphemic buffer), we present evidence of two distinct and dissociable functions of orthographic WM. One function is responsible for maintaining the temporal stability of letters held in orthographic WM, while the other is responsible for maintaining their representational distinctiveness. T…
Visuospatial learning is fostered in migraine: evidence by a neuropsychological study
2018
Cognitive profile in migraine patients still remains undefined. Contradictory evidence has been provided, with impairments in different cognitive domains, normal cognition, or even better performance compared to healthy controls (HC). The latter is of particular interest considering the evidence of glutamatergic upregulation in migraine, particularly in the visual cortex, and the role of the glutamatergic system in synaptic plasticity and learning. The aim of our study is to compare cognitive performance for visuospatial memory and learning (supraspan modality) between migraineurs without aura (MwoA) and HC. Twenty-one subjects suffering from MwoA and 21 HC were enrolled. Migraineurs during…
Use of noninvasive cerebral stimulation techniques in aphasia: An updating
2012
Aphasia is a receptive and expressive communication disorder following to a cerebral accident (stroke, head injury, tumor). ical speech and language therapy was not able to significantly contribute to the aphasia recovery. In the last decade two nonin- vasive cerebral techniques, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), have been used for the treatment of aphasic patients. In this paper I will report some of the main results in this field. The aim is to highlight both coherent and contrasting outcomes emerging from the use of these techniques and to understand their therapeutic potential in the treatment of aphasia.
Prevalence of diabetic neuropathy with somatic symptoms
1993
In a door-to-door survey conducted in two municipalities of Sicily, we ascertained the prevalence of diabetic neuropathy. Our case-finding was restricted to subjects with somatic symptoms. During phase 1, we administered a screening instrument for peripheral neuropathy to 14,540 persons residing in Santa Teresa di Riva (Messina Province) and Terrasini (Palermo Province). During phase 2, neurologists evaluated those subjects who had screened positive. Diagnoses were based on clinical criteria only, and were reviewed by an adjudication panel. We found 39 persons (27 women, 12 men) affected by diabetic neuropathy. The crude prevalence, as of November 1, 1987, was 268.2 cases per 100,000 popula…
DIFFERENT FORMS OF DYSGRAPHIA IN BRAIN-DAMAGED PATIENTS
2012
Normally a neurological accident (stroke, head injury, degenerative processes, tumour) to the left hemisphere produces disor- of linguistic functions (aphasia). Among these deficits, the comprehension (reading) and production (spelling) of written lan- guage are frequently altered. In this communication will be described the different types of acquired dysgraphia following a cerebral damage. A cognitive model of the spelling system is reported to explain the different level of processing that can be impaired. The aim is to highlight the complexity of the different clinical pictures that the dysgraphic patients can to show: indeed a careful diagno- sis on damaged cognitive functions and proc…
Frequency and Correlates of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Myasthenia Gravis
2023
Background: Antibodies against acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) can also target nicotinic AChRs that are present throughout the central nervous system, thus leading to cognitive dysfunctions in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). However, the presence of cognitive impairment in MG is controversial, and the factors that may influence this risk are almost completely unknown. In this study, the frequency of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in MG, as well as the clinical, immunological, and behavioral correlates of MCI in MG were evaluated. Methods: A total of 52 patients with MG underwent a comprehensive assessment including motor and functional scales, serological testing, and neuropsychologi…
Ipsilesional and contralesional regions participate in the improvement of poststroke aphasia: a transcranial direct current stimulation study
2015
In the past few years, noninvasive cerebral stimulations have been used to modulate language task performance in healthy and aphasic patients. In this study, a dual transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on anterior and posterior language areas was applied for 2 weeks to a patient with a possible crossed aphasia following a right hemisphere stroke. Inhibitory cathodal stimulation of the right Brodmann areas (BA) 44/45 and simultaneous anodal stimulation of the left BA 44/45 improved the patient’s performance in picture naming. Conversely, the same bilateral montage on BA 39/40 did not produce any significant improvement; finally, electrode polarity inversion over BA 39/40 yielded a fu…
Recovery of aphasia: a case study with “dual” tdcs.
2011
Objectives. In the present study we used a “dual” tDCS (Vines et al., 2008; Giglia et al., 2011) training on inferior frontal gyrus’s (IFG) areas in order to improve the linguistic performance of EBE, an Italian female, left-handed, presenting a global aphasia following a stroke of right middle cerebral artery. Materials. For the picture naming task, 20 object and 20 action images, selected from a set of picture standardized for frequency, were presented on a paper sheet one at time. Method. Stimulation was used at 1mA for 15 minutes. Dual tDCS was given over both IFGs, cathode in the right (damaged areas) and anode in the left (preserved areas) daily for two weeks (weekend-free). The posit…