0000000000388521
AUTHOR
Stefan Hunsche
Cerebellar speech representation: lesion topography in dysarthria as derived from cerebellar ischemia and functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Background Lesion topography and the pathophysiological background of dysarthria due to focal cerebellar lesions have not yet been fully clarified. Objectives To investigate the lesion topography of dysarthria due to cerebellar ischemia and evaluate brainstem functions. Design Case studies. Patients Eighteen right-handed patients with sudden-onset dysarthria and cerebellar ischemia with and without brainstem involvement and 19 healthy, right-handed, monolingual, German-speaking volunteers. Methods In patients, we used multimodal electrophysiologic techniques to investigate brainstem functions. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in the 19 healthy volunteers. Activation…
Diffusion-tensor MR imaging at 1.5 and 3.0 T: initial observations.
Diffusion-tensor MR imaging was compared at 1.5 and 3.0 T. With sufficient signal-to-noise ratio, we found no differences in fractional anisotropy. With a 40% higher signal-to-noise ratio at 3.0 T, higher resolution could be obtained without introduction of noise-related errors, albeit at the cost of increased geometric distortions caused by 3.0-T magnetic field inhomogeneities.
Characterization of BOLD-fMRI signal during a verbal fluency paradigm in patients with intracerebral tumors affecting the frontal lobe.
Previous studies have indicated that the BOLD-fMRI signal can be modified by tumor processes in close vicinity to functional brain areas. This effect has been investigated primarily for the perirolandic area but there is only a limited number of studies concerning frontal cortical regions. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to characterize BOLD-fMRI signal and activation patterns in patients with frontal brain tumors while performing a verbal fluency task. Six patients (ages 31-56 years) suffering from frontal (5 left sided and 1 right sided) intracerebral tumors were examined with fMRI while performing a verbal fluency task in a blocked paradigm design. Eight healthy volunteers se…
Altered effective connectivity during working memory performance in schizophrenia: a study with fMRI and structural equation modeling
The present study aimed to explore altered effective connectivity in schizophrenic patients while performing a 2-back working memory task. Twelve right-handed, schizophrenic patients treated with typical or atypical antipsychotics and 6 healthy control subjects were studied with fMRI while performing a "2-back" working memory task. Effective connectivity within a cortical-subcortical-cerebellar network for mnemonic information processing was assessed and compared between both groups. The path model included cortico-cortical connections comprising the parietal association cortex, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) as well as a cortico-cere…
FMRI of the Cerebellum: Rostral Paravermal Activation in Tongue and Lip
We investigated with fMRI the cerebellar representation of articulatory vertical movements of the tongue and orofacial muscles in healthy volunteers and its correspondence to the area known to be affected in cerebellar dysarthria. fMRI stimulation is mainly unilateral in agreement with the frequent occurrence of dysarthria in unilateral infarction.
FAIR and dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced perfusion imaging in healthy subjects and stroke patients.
Purpose To compare dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DSC-MRI) and the flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery (FAIR) technique for measuring brain perfusion. Materials and Methods We investigated 12 patients with acute stroke, and 10 healthy volunteers with FAIR and DSC maps of regional cerebral blood volume (rCBV), mean transit time (MTT), and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). Results In volunteers good gray/white-matter contrast was observed in FAIR, rCBF, and rCBV maps. Regions with high signal intensities in FAIR matched well with high values of rCBV and rCBF. In ischemic stroke patients a high correlation (r = 0.78) of the ipsi- to contralate…
Diffusion-weighted MRI of cholesteatomas of the petrous bone
Purpose To investigate if primary cholesteatomas of the petrous bone show high signal in diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Materials and methods In this blinded study, we compared 15 patients with clinically certain cases and later surgically proven cholesteatomas vs. 12 patients with clinically acute otitis of the middle ear and 20 volunteers without petrous bone disease. Two blinded readers without knowledge of the clinical data decided in consensus agreement whether there was a pathologic signal increase in the petrous bone in an anisotropic single-shot echo-planar imaging (EPI) DWI sequence, an artifact, or no signal increase. Results Thirteen of 15 patients with cholesteatomas showed b…