We report a patient with a chronic subdural/epidural hematoma superimposed to a large arachnoid cyst occupying the left frontotemporal region. Both were discovered accidentally because of a ...trigeminal neuralgia and concomitant subjective memory complaints. Patient’s sudden selective audioverbal memory impairment probably links to a primary cortical tone deregulation and expressed through deficits of arousal-mediating structures subtly impacted by the hematoma’s progression. This case illustrates that in early-onset asymmetrical brain damage (usually left), language, audioverbal memory in particular, should not always come to dominate intact hemisphere function. A severity-threshold may exist below which inter-hemispheric reorganization of audioverbal memory is unlikely.
This work explores, for the first time, the electro-cortical activity related to the preparation of bimanual incompatible actions. To accomplish this aim, we recorded motor-related cortical ...potentials (MRCPs) in 16 healthy subjects, who were asked to draw lines and/or circles during three experimental conditions: Unimanual, Bimanually Compatible (either lines or circles with both hands) and Bimanually Incompatible (a line with one hand and a circle with the other hand). We show that the electro-cortical activity recorded during the preparation of the bimanually incompatible actions included a central positivity (CP) that began approximately 2.5s before movement onset and was localized in medial frontal areas. We then recorded a later (ca. 700ms before movement onset) negative activity in the supplementary motor area (consistent with Bereitschaftspotential). Finally, a strong frontal lateral positivity (FLP) emerged ca. 1.8s before the initiation of drawing that was localized in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. All components were bilateral. The CP component has not been described before. These data are discussed with regard to the “interference network” theory.
•We showed the brain activity timing associated with bimanual incompatible movements.•We found novel electro-cortical activities preceding and following the movement.•These activities were localized in the prefrontal, premotor and parietal cortices.•The presence of the “interference network” for bimanual actions was confirmed.•The knowledge about this network has been extended including its timing.
Schizophrenics display impairments in domains of social cognition such as theory of mind and emotion recognition. Recent studies, showing that the relationship of social cognition abilities with ...functional outcome is more significant than other neuro-cognitive functions, have considered these abilities as a target for intervention research. This article describes preliminary data from a new group-based study focused on Emotion and ToM Imitation Training (ETIT), an imitation treatment aimed at improving social cognition and social functioning in schizophrenia.
In the present study, 16 outpatients with schizophrenia completed ETIT assessment and were compared with 17 outpatients who participated to a Problem Solving Training group. Participants were assessed at pre- and post-test on measures of emotion recognition, theory of mind, cognition, flexibility and social functioning. We compared the rehabilitation training effects on neuro-physiological activation through the event-related potentials (ERPs) method, which was recorded pre- and post-rehabilitation training. The results showed that when compared to the control group, ETIT participants improved on every social cognitive measure and showed better social functioning at post-test. Improvement in social cognition, in particular in emotion recognition, is also supported by ERP responses: we recorded an increase in electroactivity of medio-frontal areas only after ETIT treatment. Action observation and imitation could be regarded as a new frontier in rehabilitation.
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Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, FSPLJ, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The neuropsychological characteristics of Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsies (IGEs) as a wide syndrome encompassing different clinical entities have been as yet not well understood. We have studied ...neuropsychological performance in patients suffering Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME) and Generalized Tonic Clonic Seizures (IGE-GTCS-only) to provide indirect-cognitive evidence on the pathophysiology of IGE-related neuropsychological dysfunction. Greater arousal-related impairments were expected for the auditory modality, by drawing on previous anatomo-clinical and neuro-evolutionary accounts. We have studied neurocognitive functioning in 26 IGE patients, suffering either JME (n = 16) or IGE-GTCS-only (n = 10), and their healthy counterparts consisted of 26 (18 females) demographically matched participants. IGE patients (JME and IGE-GTCS-only) did worse with respect to HC (healthy controls) in visual- and auditory- speed of information processing (reaction time), auditory-vigilance and -response inhibition, visuo-motor coordination, visual working memory and motor speed, delayed visual recall, immediate- and delayed verbal episodic recall, lexical access and retrieval, semantic associative processing, auditory-verbal memory span and verbal learning. Although both IGE-GTCS-only and JME patients delayed episodic recall was defective, the former did significantly worse. We believe that IGE patients' neuropsychological derailments represent indirect-secondary manifestations of a primary cortical tone deregulation inherent to IGEs' pathophysiology. In particular, IGE patients' worse-dissociated performance in auditory TOVA-also seen previously in TBI and schizophrenia-may implicate a grater vulnerability of the auditory information processing system, as well as a possibly shared cognitive pathophysiological component between IGE and the above nosologies.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract The pioneeristic work of Alexander Romanovic Luria into the field of human neuropsychology offered eminent contributions to clinical praxis by providing theory guided methods and instruments ...for the study of higher cortical functions. However, lots of this knowledge corpus either remains untranslated and thus inaccessible, or in some cases selectively overlooked by academic authorities and consequently not passed to the future generations of experts. Although Luria was not exclusively devoted to the study of epilepsy, his theories and clinical approaches actually penetrate the whole neuropathology spectrum. His holistic and systemic approach to the brain sounds nowadays more than opportune and consistent with the network approach of the modern neuroimaging era. As to epilepsy, the logic underlying the Lurian approach (cognitive functions organized into complex functional systems with intra- and/or inter-hemispheric distribution, as opposed to the modularistic view of the brain) seems consistent with our current knowledge in epileptology with respect to epileptic networks, as well as the modern construct of the functional deficit zone. These contributions seem to be highly promising for the neuropsychology of epilepsy and epilepsy surgery, since they provide clinicians with valuable methods and theories to assist them in the localization -and lateralization- of cognitive deficits. Consequently they are of great applicability in the context of the preoperative neuropsychological monitoring of patients candidates for epilepsy surgery, where neuropsychologist are called upon to provide surgeons with anatomical data.
In their work, the authors addressed the longstanding issue concerning the influence of somatic inputs on emotional processing, comparing emotional processing of healthy and complete spinal cord ...injury (SCI) individuals. Since a complete spinal cord transection causes interruption of the neural flow from the periphery to the brain, SCI represents a useful model for testing the role of somatic inputs in emotional processing. ...in investigating emotional processing in SCI, it must be taken into account the key role of interoception (i.e., the perception of internal bodily signals arising from the organs—e.g., heart, viscera, muscles) in emotional experience and cognition (Seth and Critchley, 2013), as partially done by Pistoia and colleagues. ...to complete the picture, we must not forget that spinal cord injuries radically affect the life of those suffering from them, causing several losses (i.e., physical, psychological, relational, existential) with whom SCI individuals have to cope.
Emotional disturbances have been reported in patients with epilepsy. Although conflicting results emanate from relevant studies, depressive symptoms are seen more often in temporal lobe epilepsy ...(TLE) whereas, hypomanic/manic symptoms usually accompany frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE); the above psychiatric symptoms are especially seen in refractory epilepsy. However, neocortical TLE and medial TLE are considered as distinct epileptic syndromes, and there is limited literature on comparison of affective traits in medial TLE (MTLE) and FLE.
In the present study, we sought to investigate affective traits among epilepsy surgery candidates suffering refractory left medial TLE (LMTLE), right medial TLE (RMTLE), left FLE (LFLE), and right FLE (RFLE).
Our results revealed that patients with MTLE scored significantly higher than the ones with FLE in depression, anxiety, asthenia, and melancholia as measured by the Symptoms Rating Scale for Depression and Anxiety (SRSDA), while patients with FLE scored significantly higher in mania than those with MTLE. Moreover, patients with MTLE scored significantly higher than their FLE counterparts on the anxiety scale of the State Trait Personality Inventory (STPI)-trait version. When laterality of the seizure focus was taken into account, no differences were found among both patients with MTLE and patients with FLE, with exception for the Trail Making Test part B (TMT-B) in which patients with RMTLE performed significantly worse than patients with LMTLE. Seizure frequency was higher for FLE.
We provide evidence for an anterior-frontal versus a posterior-medial temporal cerebral functional asymmetry with regard to the manifestation of manic and depressive emotional traits in FLE and MTLE, respectively. Our results are mainly discussed within the frame of their contribution in localizing and to a lesser extent in lateralizing seizures foci in epilepsy surgery candidates. We suggest that this is of great importance in the context of preoperative monitoring of epilepsy surgery, especially when neuropsychologists are called upon to provide anatomical information in defining the functional deficit zone.
•Emotional assymetric performance may aid seizure network localization and lateralization•Hemispheric assymetries reflect different processing modalities•MTLE showed higher rate of depression, while FLE higher rates of mania•Emotional assymetries may aid preoperative neuropsychological analysis
The aim of the study was to evaluate whether the presence/absence of visual cues specifying the onset of an upcoming, action-related stimulus modulates pre-stimulus brain activity, associated with ...the proactive control of goal-directed actions. To this aim we asked 12 subjects to perform an equal probability Go/No-go task with four stimulus configurations in two conditions: (1) uncued, i.e., without any external information about the timing of stimulus onset; and (2) cued, i.e., with external visual cues providing precise information about the timing of stimulus onset. During task both behavioral performance and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Behavioral results showed faster response times in the cued than uncued condition, confirming existing literature. ERPs showed novel results in the proactive control stage, that started about 1 s before the motor response. We observed a slow rising prefrontal positive activity, more pronounced in the cued than the uncued condition. Further, also pre-stimulus activity of premotor areas was larger in cued than uncued condition. In the post-stimulus period, the P3 amplitude was enhanced when the time of stimulus onset was externally driven, confirming that external cueing enhances processing of stimulus evaluation and response monitoring. Our results suggest that different pre-stimulus processing come into play in the two conditions. We hypothesize that the large prefrontal and premotor activities recorded with external visual cues index the monitoring of the external stimuli in order to finely regulate the action.
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