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The Behavioral and Brain Sciences Nov 2023I strongly support Barzykowski and Moulin in their proposal that common retrieval mechanisms can lead to distinct phenomenological memory experiences. I emphasize the...
I strongly support Barzykowski and Moulin in their proposal that common retrieval mechanisms can lead to distinct phenomenological memory experiences. I emphasize the importance of one of these mechanisms, namely the attribution system. Neuropsychological studies should help clarifying the role of these retrieval mechanisms, notably in cases of medial temporal-lobe lesions and cases of dementia.
Topics: Humans; Memory, Episodic
PubMed: 37961781
DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X23000249 -
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences Nov 2023In our target article, we presented the idea that involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) and déjà vu may both be based on the same retrieval processes. Our core...
In our target article, we presented the idea that involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) and déjà vu may both be based on the same retrieval processes. Our core claim was thus straightforward: Both can be described as "involuntary" or spontaneous cognitions, where IAMs deliver content and déjà vu delivers only the feeling of retrieval. Our proposal resulted in 27 commentaries covering a broad range of perspectives and approaches. The majority of them have not only amplified our key arguments but also pushed our ideas further by offering extensions, refinements, discussing possible implications and providing additional empirical, neuroscientific and clinical support. The discussion launched by the commentaries proves to us the importance of bringing IAMs and déjà vu into mainstream discussions of memory retrieval processes.
Topics: Humans; Memory, Episodic; Cognition; Emotions
PubMed: 37961810
DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X23002765 -
Annals of Neurology Nov 2023Familial mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (FMTLE) is an important focal epilepsy syndrome; its molecular genetic basis is unknown. Clinical descriptions of FMTLE vary...
OBJECTIVE
Familial mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (FMTLE) is an important focal epilepsy syndrome; its molecular genetic basis is unknown. Clinical descriptions of FMTLE vary between a mild syndrome with prominent déjà vu to a more severe phenotype with febrile seizures and hippocampal sclerosis. We aimed to refine the phenotype of FMTLE by analyzing a large cohort of patients and asked whether common risk variants for focal epilepsy and/or febrile seizures, measured by polygenic risk scores (PRS), are enriched in individuals with FMTLE.
METHODS
We studied 134 families with ≥ 2 first or second-degree relatives with temporal lobe epilepsy, with clear mesial ictal semiology required in at least one individual. PRS were calculated for 227 FMTLE cases, 124 unaffected relatives, and 16,077 population controls.
RESULTS
The age of patients with FMTLE onset ranged from 2.5 to 70 years (median = 18, interquartile range = 13-28 years). The most common focal seizure symptom was déjà vu (62% of cases), followed by epigastric rising sensation (34%), and fear or anxiety (22%). The clinical spectrum included rare cases with drug-resistance and/or hippocampal sclerosis. FMTLE cases had a higher mean focal epilepsy PRS than population controls (odds ratio = 1.24, 95% confidence interval = 1.06, 1.46, p = 0.007); in contrast, no enrichment for the febrile seizure PRS was observed.
INTERPRETATION
FMTLE is a generally mild drug-responsive syndrome with déjà vu being the commonest symptom. In contrast to dominant monogenic focal epilepsy syndromes, our molecular data support a polygenic basis for FMTLE. Furthermore, the PRS data suggest that sub-genome-wide significant focal epilepsy genome-wide association study single nucleotide polymorphisms are important risk variants for FMTLE. ANN NEUROL 2023;94:825-835.
Topics: Humans; Child, Preschool; Child; Adolescent; Young Adult; Adult; Middle Aged; Aged; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe; Genome-Wide Association Study; Seizures, Febrile; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Electroencephalography; Syndrome; Hippocampus
PubMed: 37597255
DOI: 10.1002/ana.26765 -
The British Journal of General Practice... 2021
Topics: Health Status Disparities; Humans
PubMed: 33632678
DOI: 10.3399/bjgp21X714941 -
Journal of Occupational Health Jan 2020On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) received reports of pneumonia cases of unknown etiology in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, China. The agent...
On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) received reports of pneumonia cases of unknown etiology in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, China. The agent responsible was subsequently identified as a coronavirus-SARS-CoV-2. The WHO declared this disease as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern at the end of January 2020. This event evoked a sense of déjà vu, as it has many similarities to the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) of 2002-2003. Both illnesses were caused by a zoonotic novel coronavirus, both originated during winter in China and both spread rapidly all over the world. However, the case-fatality rate of SARS (9.6%) is higher than that of COVID-19 (<4%). Another zoonotic novel coronavirus, MERS-CoV, was responsible for the Middle East respiratory syndrome, which had a case-fatality rate of 34%. Our experiences in coping with the previous coronavirus outbreaks have better equipped us to face the challenges posed by COVID-19, especially in the health care setting. Among the insights gained from the past outbreaks were: outbreaks caused by viruses are hazardous to healthcare workers; the impact of the disease extends beyond the infection; general principles of prevention and control are effective in containing the disease; the disease poses both a public health as well as an occupational health threat; and emerging infectious diseases pose a continuing threat to the world. Given the perspectives gained and lessons learnt from these past events, we should be better prepared to face the current COVID-19 outbreak.
Topics: Betacoronavirus; COVID-19; China; Coronavirus Infections; Disease Outbreaks; Health Personnel; History, 21st Century; Humans; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Health; Pandemics; Pneumonia, Viral; SARS-CoV-2; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; World Health Organization
PubMed: 32515882
DOI: 10.1002/1348-9585.12128 -
ASPHER Statement: Déjà vu? Planning for the Covid-19 Third Wave and Planning for the Winter 2021-22.International Journal of Public Health 2021
Topics: COVID-19; Humans; Seasons
PubMed: 34497482
DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2021.1604361 -
Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery 2023The advent of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) for Parkinson's disease 30 years ago has ushered a global breakthrough of DBS as a universal... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
The advent of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) for Parkinson's disease 30 years ago has ushered a global breakthrough of DBS as a universal method for therapy and research in wide areas of neurology and psychiatry. The literature of the last three decades has described numerous concepts and practices of DBS, often branded as novelties or discoveries. However, reading the contemporary publications often elicits a sense of déjà vu in relation to several methods, attributes, and practices of DBS. Here, we review various applications and techniques of the modern-era DBS and compare them with practices of the past.
SUMMARY
Compared with modern literature, publications of the old-era functional stereotactic neurosurgery, including old-era DBS, show that from the very beginning multidisciplinarity and teamwork were often prevalent and insisted upon, ethical concerns were recognized, brain circuitries and rational for brain targets were discussed, surgical indications were similar, closed-loop stimulation was attempted, evaluations of surgical results were debated, and controversies were common. Thus, it appears that virtually everything done today in the field of DBS bears resemblance to old-time practices, or has been done before, albeit with partly other tools and techniques. Movement disorders remain the main indications for modern DBS as was the case for lesional surgery and old-era DBS. The novelties today consist of the STN as the dominant target for DBS, the tremendous advances in computerized brain imaging, the sophistication and versatility of implantable DBS hardware, and the large potential for research.
KEY MESSAGES
Many aspects of contemporary DBS bear strong resemblance to practices of the past. The dominant clinical indications remain movement disorders with virtually the same brain targets as in the past, with one exception: the STN. Other novel brain targets - that are so far subject to DBS trials - are the pedunculopontine nucleus for gait freezing, the anteromedial internal pallidum for Gilles de la Tourette and the fornix for Alzheimer's disease. The major innovations and novelties compared to the past concern mainly the unmatched level of research activity, its high degree of sponsorship, and the outstanding advances in technology that have enabled multimodal brain imaging and the miniaturization, versatility, and sophistication of implantable hardware. The greatest benefit for patients today, compared to the past, is the higher level of precision and safety of DBS, and of all functional stereotactic neurosurgery.
Topics: Humans; Deep Brain Stimulation; Brain; Subthalamic Nucleus; Parkinson Disease; Globus Pallidus
PubMed: 37844558
DOI: 10.1159/000533430 -
Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... Nov 2019Musicogenic epilepsy is rare focal epilepsy in which seizures are triggered by music. Both spontaneous and reflexes seizures may occur. To date there are limited data...
Musicogenic epilepsy is rare focal epilepsy in which seizures are triggered by music. Both spontaneous and reflexes seizures may occur. To date there are limited data about this epilepsy, particularly about its etiopathogenesis. We report the clinical, neurophysiological and imaging data about musicogenic epilepsy in a patient who underwent Stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) study. A 27 year-old right-handed woman suffering from drug-resistant epilepsy since the age of 17 years, was evaluated for surgery. She had weekly seizures characterized by an unpleasant ascending gastric sensation, tachycardia, occasionally late oro-alimentary automatisms, déjà-vu and vomiting. Only during longer seizures a partial loss of awareness was reported. Interestingly, familiar songs triggered seizures. Rarely, she had spontaneous seizures with the same features. The ictal EEG onset appeared to be right temporal, but there was seizure propagation to suprasylvian areas. Brain MRI was negative. A SEEG implantation was performed to study the right temporo-perisylvian regions. SEEG data clearly indicated the antero-mesial temporal regions as origin of the seizures, without any spread to other close or distant cortical areas. Right temporal antero-mesial resection was performed 24 months ago and the patient is seizure-free since surgery. Neuropathology was uninformative. SEEG data highlighted the hypothesis regarding a temporo-mesial emotional-mnesic network triggered by particular music with an affective component for the patient. The primary auditory cortex and lateral mid-posterior temporal and extratemporal cortices were not involved. Different triggers as mentally singing and hearing the music can induce seizure as well as electrical stimulation in the mesial temporal structures.
Topics: Adult; Drug Resistant Epilepsy; Electroencephalography; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Music; Neurosurgical Procedures; Temporal Lobe; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 30837152
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.02.005 -
American Journal of Medical Genetics.... Jul 2023The sodium leak channel (NALCN) gene encodes a sodium leak channel that plays an important role in the regulation of the resting membrane potential and the control of...
The sodium leak channel (NALCN) gene encodes a sodium leak channel that plays an important role in the regulation of the resting membrane potential and the control of neuronal excitability. Mutations in the NALCN gene have been reported in patients with infantile hypotonia with psychomotor retardation and characteristic facies (IHPRF) and congenital contractures of the limbs and face with hypotonia and developmental delay (CLIFAHDD syndrome). We describe the case of a father with drug-resistant left temporo-orbitofrontal epilepsy and his son with mildly-symptomatic temporal epilepsy (only recurrent déjà vu auras) whose genetic panels identified a likely pathogenic deletion of exon 27 on the NALCN gene. Our study helps broaden the clinical spectrum of diseases associated with mutations in the NALCN gene.
Topics: Humans; Ion Channels; Muscle Hypotonia; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe; Sodium Channels; Epilepsy; Sodium; Membrane Proteins
PubMed: 37046053
DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.a.63209 -
Journal of Vascular Surgery Dec 2022
Topics: Humans; Plaque, Atherosclerotic
PubMed: 36410846
DOI: 10.1016/j.jvs.2022.07.186