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Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment 2024Absence seizures are classically associated with behavioral arrest and transient deficits in consciousness, yet substantial variability exists in the severity of the... (Review)
Review
Absence seizures are classically associated with behavioral arrest and transient deficits in consciousness, yet substantial variability exists in the severity of the impairment. Despite several decades of research on the topic, the pathophysiology of absence seizures and the mechanisms underlying behavioral impairment remain unclear. Several rationales have been proposed including widespread cortical deactivation, reduced perception of external stimuli, and transient suspension of the default mode network, among others. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge on the neural correlates of impaired consciousness in absence seizures. We review evidence from studies using animal models of absence epilepsy, electroencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetoencephalography, positron emission tomography, and single photon emission computed tomography.
PubMed: 38947367
DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S391052 -
Brain Research Bulletin Jun 2024The ability to accurately encode the temporal information of sensory events and hence to make prompt action is fundamental to humans' prompt behavioral decision-making....
The ability to accurately encode the temporal information of sensory events and hence to make prompt action is fundamental to humans' prompt behavioral decision-making. Here we examined the ability of ensemble coding (averaging multiple inter-intervals in a sound sequence) and subsequent immediate reproduction of target duration at half, equal, or double that of the perceived mean interval in a sensorimotor loop. With magnetoencephalography (MEG), we found that the contingent magnetic variation (CMV) in the central scalp varied as a function of the averaging tasks, with a faster rate for buildup amplitudes and shorter peak latencies in the "half" condition as compared to the "double" condition. ERD (event-related desynchronization) -to-ERS (event-related synchronization) latency was shorter in the "half" condition. A robust beta band (15-23Hz) power suppression and recovery between the final tone and the action of key pressing was found for time reproduction. The beta modulation depth (i.e., the ERD-to-ERS power difference) was larger in motor areas than in primary auditory areas. Moreover, results of phase slope index (PSI) indicated that beta oscillations in the left supplementary motor area (SMA) led those in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG), showing SMA to STG directionality for the processing of sequential (temporal) auditory interval information. Our findings provide the first evidence to show that CMV and beta oscillations predict the coupling between perception and action in time averaging.
PubMed: 38942396
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2024.111021 -
Computer Methods and Programs in... Jun 2024The exploration of various neuroimaging techniques have become focal points within the field of neuroscience research. Magnetoencephalography based on optically pumped...
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The exploration of various neuroimaging techniques have become focal points within the field of neuroscience research. Magnetoencephalography based on optically pumped magnetometers (OPM-MEG) has shown significant potential to be the next generation of functional neuroimaging with the advantages of high signal intensity and flexible sensor arrangement. In this study, we constructed a 31-channel OPM-MEG system and performed a preliminary comparison of the temporal and spatial relationship between magnetic responses measured by OPM-MEG and blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals detected by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a grasping task.
METHODS
For OPM-MEG, the β-band (15-30 Hz) oscillatory activities can be reliably detected across multiple subjects and multiple session runs. To effectively localize the inhibitory oscillatory activities, a source power-spectrum ratio-based imaging method was proposed. This approach was compared with conventional source imaging methods, such as minimum norm-type and beamformer methods, and was applied in OPM-MEG source analysis. Subsequently, the spatial and temporal responses at the source-level between OPM-MEG and fMRI were analyzed.
RESULTS
The effectiveness of the proposed method was confirmed through simulations compared to benchmark methods. Our demonstration revealed an average spatial separation of 10.57 ± 4.41 mm between the localization results of OPM-MEG and fMRI across four subjects. Furthermore, the fMRI-constrained OPM-MEG localization results indicated a more focused imaging extent.
CONCLUSIONS
Taken together, the performance exhibited by OPM-MEG positions it as a potential instrument for functional surgery assessment.
PubMed: 38936152
DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2024.108292 -
Journal of Clinical Neurophysiology :... Jul 2024Stereo-EEG is a widely used method to improve the diagnostic precision of presurgical workup in patients with refractory epilepsy. Its ability to detect epileptic... (Review)
Review
Stereo-EEG is a widely used method to improve the diagnostic precision of presurgical workup in patients with refractory epilepsy. Its ability to detect epileptic activity and identify epileptic networks largely depends on the chosen implantation strategy. Even in an ideal situation, electrodes record activity generated in <10% of the brain and contacts only record from brain tissue in their immediate proximity. In this article, the authors discuss how recording stereo-EEG simultaneously with other diagnostic methods can improve its diagnostic value in clinical and research settings. It can help overcome the limited spatial coverage of intracranial recording and better understand the sources of epileptic activity. Simultaneous scalp EEG is the most widely available method, often used to understand large epileptic networks, seizure propagation, and EEG activity occurring on the contralateral hemisphere. Simultaneous magnetoencephalography allows for more precise source localization and identification of deep sources outside the stereo-EEG coverage. Finally, simultaneous functional MRI can highlight metabolic changes following epileptic activity and help understand the widespread network changes associated with interictal activity. This overview highlights advantages and methodological challenges for all these methods. Clinical use and research applications are presented for each approach.
Topics: Humans; Electroencephalography; Magnetoencephalography; Brain; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Epilepsy
PubMed: 38935658
DOI: 10.1097/WNP.0000000000001086 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024A superconducting quantum magnetometer for high-sensitivity applications has been developed by exploiting the flux focusing of the superconducting loop. Unlike...
A superconducting quantum magnetometer for high-sensitivity applications has been developed by exploiting the flux focusing of the superconducting loop. Unlike conventional dc SQUID magnetometers that use a superconducting flux transformer or a multiloop design, in this case, a very simple design has been employed. It consists of a bare dc SQUID with a large washer-shaped superconducting ring in order to guarantee a magnetic field sensitivity B less than one nT/Φ. The degradation of the characteristics of the device due to an inevitable high value of the inductance parameter β was successfully compensated by damping the inductance of the dc SQUID. The size of the magnetometer, coinciding with that of the washer, is 5 × 5 mm and the spectral density of the magnetic field noise is 8 fT/√Hz with a low frequency noise knee of two Hz. The excellent performance of this simple magnetometer makes it usable for all high-sensitivity applications including magnetoencephalography.
PubMed: 38931779
DOI: 10.3390/s24123998 -
Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) has played an extensive role in interpreting brain activity, which has been applied in studies with modalities such as functional...
Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) has played an extensive role in interpreting brain activity, which has been applied in studies with modalities such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and Electroencephalography (EEG). The advent of wearable MEG systems based on optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs), i.e., OP-MEG, has broadened the application of bio-magnetism in the realm of neuroscience. Nonetheless, it also raises challenges in temporal decoding analysis due to the unique attributes of OP-MEG itself. The efficacy of decoding performance utilizing multimodal fusion, such as MEG-EEG, also remains to be elucidated. In this regard, we investigated the impact of several factors, such as processing methods, models and modalities, on the decoding outcomes of OP-MEG. Our findings indicate that the number of averaged trials, dimensionality reduction (DR) methods, and the number of cross-validation folds significantly affect the decoding performance of OP-MEG data. Additionally, decoding results vary across modalities and fusion strategy. In contrast, decoder type, resampling frequency, and sliding window length exert marginal effects. Furthermore, we introduced mutual information (MI) to investigate how information loss due to OP-MEG data processing affect decoding accuracy. Our study offers insights for linear decoding research using OP-MEG and expand its application in the fields of cognitive neuroscience.
PubMed: 38927845
DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering11060609 -
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences Jun 2024Schizophrenia (SZ) is a brain disorder characterized by psychotic symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. Recently, irregularities in sharp-wave ripples (SPW-Rs) have been...
AIMS
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a brain disorder characterized by psychotic symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. Recently, irregularities in sharp-wave ripples (SPW-Rs) have been reported in SZ. As SPW-Rs play a critical role in memory, their irregularities can cause psychotic symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in patients with SZ. In this study, we investigated the SPW-Rs in human SZ.
METHODS
We measured whole-brain activity using magnetoencephalography (MEG) in patients with SZ (n = 20) and sex- and age-matched healthy participants (n = 20) during open-eye rest. We identified SPW-Rs and analyzed their occurrence and time-frequency traits. Furthermore, we developed a novel multivariate analysis method, termed "ripple-gedMEG" to extract the global features of SPW-Rs. We also examined the association between SPW-Rs and brain state transitions. The outcomes of these analyses were modeled to predict the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) scores of SZ.
RESULTS
We found that SPW-Rs in the SZ (1) occurred more frequently, (2) the delay of the coupling phase (3) appeared in different brain areas, (4) consisted of a less organized spatiotemporal pattern, and (5) were less involved in brain state transitions. Finally, some of the neural features associated with the SPW-Rs were found to be PANSS-positive, a pathological indicator of SZ. These results suggest that widespread but disorganized SPW-Rs underlies the symptoms of SZ.
CONCLUSION
We identified irregularities in SPW-Rs in SZ and confirmed that their alternations were strongly associated with SZ neuropathology. These results suggest a new direction for human SZ research.
PubMed: 38923051
DOI: 10.1111/pcn.13702 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2024Schizophrenia is a severe disruption in cognition and emotion, affecting fundamental human functions. In this study, we applied Multi-Scale Entropy analysis to...
Schizophrenia is a severe disruption in cognition and emotion, affecting fundamental human functions. In this study, we applied Multi-Scale Entropy analysis to resting-state Magnetoencephalography data from 54 schizophrenia patients and 98 healthy controls. This method quantifies the temporal complexity of the signal across different time scales using the concept of sample entropy. Results show significantly higher sample entropy in schizophrenia patients, primarily in central, parietal, and occipital lobes, peaking at time scales equivalent to frequencies between 15 and 24 Hz. To disentangle the contributions of the amplitude and phase components, we applied the same analysis to a phase-shuffled surrogate signal. The analysis revealed that most differences originate from the amplitude component in the δ, α, and β power bands. While the phase component had a smaller magnitude, closer examination reveals clear spatial patterns and significant differences across specific brain regions. We assessed the potential of multi-scale entropy as a schizophrenia biomarker by comparing its classification performance to conventional spectral analysis and a cognitive task (the n-back paradigm). The discriminative power of multi-scale entropy and spectral features was similar, with a slight advantage for multi-scale entropy features. The results of the n-back test were slightly below those obtained from multi-scale entropy and spectral features.
Topics: Humans; Schizophrenia; Magnetoencephalography; Male; Female; Adult; Entropy; Brain; Middle Aged; Case-Control Studies
PubMed: 38918430
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64704-2 -
BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... Jun 2024Our understanding of how visual cortex neural processes mature during infancy and toddlerhood is limited. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), the present study...
UNLABELLED
Our understanding of how visual cortex neural processes mature during infancy and toddlerhood is limited. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), the present study investigated the development of visual evoked responses (VERs) in both cross-sectional and longitudinal samples of infants and toddlers 2 months to 3 years. Brain space analyses focused on N1m and P1m latency, as well as the N1m-to-P1m amplitude. Associations between VER measures and developmental quotient (DQ) scores in the cognitive/visual and fine motor domains were also examined. Results showed a nonlinear decrease in N1m and P1m latency as a function of age, characterized by rapid changes followed by slower progression, with the N1m latency plateauing at 6-7 months and the P1m latency plateauing at 8-9 months. The N1m-to-P1m amplitude also exhibited a non-linear decrease, with strong responses observed in younger infants (∼2-3 months) and then a gradual decline. Associations between N1m and P1m latency and fine motor DQ scores were observed, suggesting that infants with faster visual processing may be better equipped to perform fine motor tasks. The present findings advance our understanding of the maturation of the infant visual system and highlight the relationship between the maturation of visual system and fine motor skills.
HIGHLIGHTS
The infant N1m and P1m latency shows a nonlinear decrease.N1m latency decreases precede P1m latency decreases.N1m-to-P1m amplitude shows a nonlinear decrease, with stronger responses in younger than older infants.N1m and P1m latency are associated with fine motor DQ.
PubMed: 38915536
DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.11.598480 -
Neurobiology of Language (Cambridge,... 2024Hearing one's own speech allows for acoustic self-monitoring in real time. Left-hemisphere motor planning regions are thought to give rise to efferent predictions that...
Hearing one's own speech allows for acoustic self-monitoring in real time. Left-hemisphere motor planning regions are thought to give rise to efferent predictions that can be compared to true feedback in sensory cortices, resulting in neural suppression commensurate with the degree of overlap between predicted and actual sensations. Sensory prediction errors thus serve as a possible mechanism of detection of deviant speech sounds, which can then feed back into corrective action, allowing for online control of speech acoustics. The goal of this study was to assess the integrity of this detection-correction circuit in persons with aphasia (PWA) whose left-hemisphere lesions may limit their ability to control variability in speech output. We recorded magnetoencephalography (MEG) while 15 PWA and age-matched controls spoke monosyllabic words and listened to playback of their utterances. From this, we measured speaking-induced suppression of the M100 neural response and related it to lesion profiles and speech behavior. Both speaking-induced suppression and cortical sensitivity to deviance were preserved at the group level in PWA. PWA with more spared tissue in pars opercularis had greater left-hemisphere neural suppression and greater behavioral correction of acoustically deviant pronunciations, whereas sparing of superior temporal gyrus was not related to neural suppression or acoustic behavior. In turn, PWA who made greater corrections had fewer overt speech errors in the MEG task. Thus, the motor planning regions that generate the efferent prediction are integral to performing corrections when that prediction is violated.
PubMed: 38911464
DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00139