Search results for " neurological"
showing 10 items of 166 documents
The calculation of the first positive Lyapunov exponent in sleep EEG data
1993
To help determine if the EEG is quasiperiodic or chaotic we performed a new analysis by calculating the first positive Lyapunov exponent L1 from sleep EEG data. Lyapunov exponents measure the mean exponential expansion or contraction of a flow in phase space. L1 is zero for periodic as well as quasiperiodic processes, but positive in case of chaotic processes expressing the sensitive dependence on initial conditions. We calculated L1 for sleep EEG segments of 15 healthy male subjects corresponding to sleep stages I, II, III, IV and REM (according to Rechtschaffen and Kales). Our investigations support the assumption that EEG signals are neither quasiperiodic waves nor simple noise. Moreover…
Quantitative sensory testing in the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain (DFNS): Somatosensory abnormalities in 1236 patients with different n…
2009
Neuropathic pain is accompanied by both positive and negative sensory signs. To explore the spectrum of sensory abnormalities, 1236 patients with a clinical diagnosis of neuropathic pain were assessed by quantitative sensory testing (QST) following the protocol of DFNS (German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain), using both thermal and mechanical nociceptive as well as non-nociceptive stimuli. Data distributions showed a systematic shift to hyperalgesia for nociceptive, and to hypoesthesia for non-nociceptive parameters. Across all parameters, 92% of the patients presented at least one abnormality. Thermosensory or mechanical hypoesthesia (up to 41%) was more frequent than hypoalgesia (up…
Quantitative sensory testing in the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain (DFNS): Standardized protocol and reference values
2006
The nationwide multicenter trials of the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain (DFNS) aim to characterize the somatosensory phenotype of patients with neuropathic pain. For this purpose, we have implemented a standardized quantitative sensory testing (QST) protocol giving a complete profile for one region within 30 min. To judge plus or minus signs in patients we have now established age- and gender-matched absolute and relative QST reference values from 180 healthy subjects, assessed bilaterally over face, hand and foot. We determined thermal detection and pain thresholds including a test for paradoxical heat sensations, mechanical detection thresholds to von Frey filaments and a 64 …
Dipole Source Analyses of Early Median Nerve SEP Components Obtained From Subdural Grid Recordings
2010
The median nerve N20 and P22 SEP components constitute the initial response of the primary somatosensory cortex to somatosensory stimulation of the upper extremity. Knowledge of the underlying generators is important both for basic understanding of the initial sequence of cortical activation and to identify landmarks for eloquent areas to spare in resection planning of cortex in epilepsy surgery. We now set out to localize the N20 and P22 using subdural grid recording with special emphasis on the question of the origin of P22: Brodmann area 4 versus area 1. Electroencephalographic dipole source analysis of the N20 and P22 responses obtained from subdural grids over the primary somatosensor…
Excitability and susceptibility of the brain's electrical activity during sleep: an analysis of late components of AEPs and VEPs.
1991
We investigated ten healthy male subjects and measured late components of AEPs and VEPs during sleep. According to Rechtschaffen and Kales (1968) we performed an off-line scoring procedure of sleep-EEG and averaged the AEPs and VEPs of five different periods, corresponding to sleep stages I, II, III, IV and REM. From the averaged evoked potentials we computed the amplitude-frequency-characteristic (AFC) of the brain (Basar, 1980) during different sleep stages. These AFCs characterize transfer properties of an oscillating system. A comparison of different AFCs has shown that the excitability of the brain depicts a clear alpha resonance during stage I, a pronounced delta resonance during stag…
Autosomal dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia: report of a large italian family with R581X spastin mutation
2007
We describe a large kindred with a typical pure form of autosomal dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia (ADHSP). On the basis of maximum LOD score of 1.94 at theta (max)=0 with marker D2S367, we obtained suggestive evidence for linkage of ADHSP to SPG4 locus. Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and direct sequence analysis allowed us to identify a nonsense mutation (1741* C > T) in exon 17 of the Spastin gene. This transition, carried by all the affected family members and two apparently healthy individuals, lead to truncation of the last 36 amino acids in the C-terminus of the protein. These results confirm the existence of mutation in the SPG4 gene with a reduced pe…
Psychophysics, flare, and neurosecretory function in human pain models: capsaicin versus electrically evoked pain.
2007
Intradermal capsaicin injection (CAP) and electrical current stimulation (ES) are analyzed in respect to patterns and test-retest reliability of pain as well as sensory and neurosecretory changes. In 10 healthy subjects, 2 CAP (50 g) and 2 ES (5 to 30 mA) were applied to the volar forearm. The time period between 2 identical stimulations was about 4 months. Pain ratings, areas of mechanical hyperalgesia, and allodynia were assessed. The intensity of sensory changes was quantified by using quantitative sensory testing. Neurogenic flare was assessed by using laser Doppler imaging. Calcito- nin gene-related peptide (CGRP) release was quantified by dermal microdialysis in combination with an en…
Altered effective connectivity during working memory performance in schizophrenia: a study with fMRI and structural equation modeling
2003
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…
Model order effects on ICA of resting-state complex-valued fMRI data : application to schizophrenia
2018
Abstract Background Component splitting at higher model orders is a widely accepted finding for independent component analysis (ICA) of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. However, our recent study found that intact components occurred with subcomponents at higher model orders. New method This study investigated model order effects on ICA of resting-state complex-valued fMRI data from 82 subjects, which included 40 healthy controls (HCs) and 42 schizophrenia patients. In addition, we explored underlying causes for distinct component splitting between complex-valued data and magnitude-only data by examining model order effects on ICA of phase fMRI data. A best run selection me…
Age-dependent decline of steady state dopamine storage capacity of human brain: an FDOPA PET study.
2010
Conventional indices of the utilization of FDOPA in living human brain have not consistently revealed important declines in dopamine function with normal aging. However, most methods of kinetic analysis have assumed irreversible trapping of decarboxylated FDOPA metabolites in brain, an assumption that is violated even in PET recordings of short duration. Therefore, we have developed methods for the calculation of steady-state storage of FDOPA together with its decarboxylated metabolites (V(d), mlg(-1)), based upon improved kinetic analysis of 120-min emission recordings. In a group of 28 normal male subjects, of age ranging from 23 to 73 years, the magnitude of V(d) in the striatum and in e…