Search results for "Neural"
showing 10 items of 2783 documents
Reprogramming of Pericyte-Derived Cells of the Adult Human Brain into Induced Neuronal Cells
2012
SummaryReprogramming of somatic cells into neurons provides a new approach toward cell-based therapy of neurodegenerative diseases. A major challenge for the translation of neuronal reprogramming into therapy is whether the adult human brain contains cell populations amenable to direct somatic cell conversion. Here we show that cells from the adult human cerebral cortex expressing pericyte hallmarks can be reprogrammed into neuronal cells by retrovirus-mediated coexpression of the transcription factors Sox2 and Mash1. These induced neuronal cells acquire the ability of repetitive action potential firing and serve as synaptic targets for other neurons, indicating their capability of integrat…
Amyloidoma of the gasserian ganglion as a cause of symptomatic neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve: report of three cases.
1993
Three cases of symptomatic neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve due to an amyloidoma in the gasserian ganglion are described. The correct diagnosis was not made prior to histological examination of the surgical biopsy specimens. Medical history and clinical observation led to the diagnosis of a malignant process of the nasal cavities in the first patient; of an inflammatory dental focus in the second patient; and of multiple sclerosis in the third patient. CT findings were normal in cases 1 and 2; in case 3, a schwannoma was suspected from the CT appearances. In case 1, MRI had not been performed; in cases 2 and 3, MRI revealed a tumour mass which was also considered to be a schwannoma. Histol…
Prospective sonographic detection of spina bifida at 11–14 weeks and systematic literature review
2015
Objective: To conduct a literature review to assess the effectiveness of first trimester ultrasonographic markers of spina bifida (SB) integrating data with our prospective experience. Methods: The analysis of the SB cases that we prospectively detected in the first trimester, between January 2012 and February 2014, and a systematic review of all the papers evaluating the effectiveness of SB ultrasonographic markers at 11–14 weeks, namely brain stem diameter (BS), fourth ventricle/intracranial translucency (IT), cisterna magna (CM), brain stem/occipital bone distance (BSOB), the ratio between BS and BSOB. Some studies assess only the effectiveness of IT, others include more parameters, and …
Distribution and phenotype ofGJB2mutations in 102 Sicilian patients with congenital non syndromic sensorineural hearing loss
2014
Objective: To evaluate the frequency of GJB2 mutations and their correlation with phenotype in Sicilian non-syndromic sensorineural hearing loss (NSHL) patients. Design: Sequencing of the coding region, basal promoter, exon 1, and donor splice site of the GJB2 gene; screening for the presence of the two common GJB6 deletions. Study sample: A cohort of 102 Sicilian NSHL patients. Results: Fifteen different mutations in GJB2 and seventeen different genotypes were detected. No GJB6 mutations were found. The hearing impairment was profound in the 64.72% of probands (mean PTA 0.25 – 4 kHz of 88.82 26.52 dB HL). A total of 81.37% of patients harboured at least one c.35delG allele; c.167delT and c…
Identification of D179H, a novel missense GJB2 mutation in a Western Sicily family
2013
The main purpose of this study was to describe a novel missense mutation (p.D179H) found in a Western Sicily family and to examine the genetic and audiologic profiles of all family members by performing a GJB2 and GJB6 mutations analysis and a complete audiologic assessment. The proband was a 3-month-old infant with a congenital profound sensorineural hearing loss; direct sequencing of the GJB2 revealed the presence of a c.35delG mutation in the heterozygous state and a heterozygous G[C transition at nucleotide 535 in trans; this novel mutation, called p.D179H, resulted in an aspartic acid to histidine change at codon 179. It was also evidenced in the heterozygous state in two members of th…
Speech perception performance as a function of stimulus pulse rate and processing strategy preference for the Cochlear™ Nucleus®CI24RE device: Relati…
2010
Current cochlear implants can operate at high pulse rates. The effect of increasing pulse rate on speech performance is not yet clear. Habituation to low rates may affect the outcome. This paper presents the results of three subsequent studies using different experimental paradigms, applying the Nucleus CI24RE device, and conducted by ten European implant teams. Pulse rate per channel varied from 500 to 3500 pulses per second with ACE and from 1200 to 3500 pps with CIS strategy. The results showed that the first rate presented had little effect on the finally preferred rate. Lower rates were preferred. The effect of pulse rate on word scores of post-linguistic implantees was small; high rat…
Changes of sensory conduction velocity and refractory periods with decreasing tissue temperature in man.
1977
Changes with temperature of maximum sensory nerve conduction velocity as well as absolute and relative refractory periods were tested in 14 human subjects. Corresponding to previously published findings maximum conduction velocity decreased with cooling following a Q10 of +1.4. The absolute and relative refractory periods were increased by cooling, the Q10 being -3.1 and -3.35 respectively. There was a tendency showing a more pronounced temperature effect at low temperatures. The Q10 and the steepness of the regressionline changed at the level of 26.9 degrees C, but were significant for the relative refractory period only.
Relation between fixation disparity and the asymmetry between convergent and divergent disparity step responses
2007
Abstract The neural network model of Patel et al. [Patel, S. S., Jiang, B. C., & Ogmen, H. (2001). Vergence dynamics predict fixation disparity. Neural Computation, 13 (7), 1495–1525] predicts that fixation disparity, the vergence error for a stationary fusion stimulus, is the result of asymmetrical dynamic properties of disparity vergence mechanisms: faster (slower) convergent than divergent responses give rise to an eso (exo) fixation disparity, i.e., over-convergence (under-convergence) in stationary fixation. This hypothesis was tested in the present study with an inter-individual approach: in 16 subjects we estimated the vergence step response to a 1 deg disparity stimulus with a subje…
Temporal Structure of Human Gaze Dynamics Is Invariant During Free Viewing.
2015
We investigate the dynamic structure of human gaze and present an experimental study of the frequency components of the change in gaze position over time during free viewing of computer-generated fractal images. We show that changes in gaze position are scale-invariant in time with statistical properties that are characteristic of a random walk process. We quantify and track changes in the temporal structure using a well-defined scaling parameter called the Hurst exponent, H. We find H is robust regardless of the spatial complexity generated by the fractal images. In addition, we find the Hurst exponent is invariant across all participants, including those with distinct changes to higher or…
Somatosensory evoked potentials in Arnold-Chiari malformation.
2002
Abstract Nearly all patients with repaired myelomeningoceles have an Arnold–Chiari (AC) malformation and about 20% of these patients develop clinical signs of brainstem dysfunction. The management of symptomatic AC malformation is still controversial and techniques are needed to provide an objective assessment of brainstem function. We recorded somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) in 52 patients aged between 8 months and 20 years (median 7.3 years) with AC malformation, to determine whether the SEPs discriminate patients with symptomatic AC malformation from those without symptoms. The subcortical far-field components P13, P14 and N18, which are generated within the brainstem, were record…