Orwik

Inferring spatiotemporal network patterns from intracranial EEG data.

OBJECTIVE: The characterization of spatial network dynamics is desirable for a better understanding of seizure physiology. The goal of this work is to develop a computational method for identifying transient spatial patterns from intracranial electro... expand abstractencephalographic (iEEG) data. METHODS: Starting with bivariate synchrony measures, such as phase correlation, a two-step clustering procedure is used to identify statistically significant spatial network patterns, whose temporal evolution can be inferred. We refer to this as the composite synchrony profile (CSP) method. RESULTS: The CSP method was verified with simulated data and evaluated using ictal and interictal recordings from three patients with intractable epilepsy. Application of the CSP method to these clinical iEEG datasets revealed a set of distinct CSPs with topographies consistent with medial temporal/limbic and superior parietal/medial frontal networks thought to be involved in the seizure generation process. CONCLUSIONS: By combining relatively straightforward multivariate signal processing techniques, such as phase synchrony, with clustering and statistical hypothesis testing, the methods we describe may prove useful for network definition and identification. SIGNIFICANCE: The network patterns we observe using the CSP method cannot be inferred from direct visual inspection of the raw time series data, nor are they apparent in voltage-based topographic map sequences. collapse abstract

ECoG gamma activity during a language task: differentiating expressive and receptive speech areas.

Electrocorticographic (ECoG) spectral patterns obtained during language tasks from 12 epilepsy patients (age: 12-44 years) were analysed in order to identify and characterize cortical language areas. ECoG from 63 subdural electrodes (500 Hz/channel) ... expand abstractchronically implanted over frontal, parietal and temporal lobes were examined. Two language tasks were performed. During the first language task, patients listened to a series of 50 words preceded by warning tones, and were asked to repeat each word. During a second memory task, subjects heard the 50 words from the first task randomly mixed with 50 new words and were asked to repeat the word only if it was a new word. Increases in ECoG gamma power (70-100 Hz) were observed in response to hearing tones (primary auditory cortex), hearing words (posterior temporal and parietal cortex) and repeating words (lateral frontal and anterior parietal cortex). These findings were compared to direct electrical stimulation and separate analysis of ECoG gamma changes during spontaneous inter-personal conversations. The results indicate that high-frequency ECoG reliably differentiates cortical areas associated with receptive and expressive speech processes for individual patients. Compared to listening to words, greater frontal lobe and decreased temporal lobe gamma activity was observed while speaking. The data support the concept of distributed functionally specific language modules interacting to serve receptive and expressive speech, with frontal lobe 'corollary discharges' suppressing low-level receptive cortical language areas in the temporal lobe during speaking. collapse abstract

Evaluation of cortical imaging techniques based on somatosensory evoked potentials.

In the present study we evaluate the performance of several inverse algorithms for reconstructing the cortical current density distributions from scalp EEG recordings. The direct cortical SEP recordings in a patient were used as a gold standard to as... expand abstractsess the performance of the numerical algorithms. The present results suggest that L(1)-norm methods gave the most accurate results in terms of cortical current density imaging of brain responses invoked by somatosensory stimulation. collapse abstract

Detecting and localizing the foci in human epileptic seizures.

We consider the electrical signals recorded from a subdural array of electrodes placed on the pial surface of the brain for chronic evaluation of epileptic patients before surgical resection. A simple and computationally fast method to analyze the in... expand abstractterictal phase synchrony between such electrodes is introduced and developed with the aim of detecting and localizing the foci of the epileptic seizures. We evaluate the method by comparing the results of surgery to the localization predicted here. We find an indication of good correspondence between the success or failure in the surgery and the agreement between our identification and the regions actually operated on. collapse abstract

Mapping and assessment of epileptogenic foci using frequency-entropy templates.

Much effort has been devoted to developing analysis methods of subdural electroencephalogram and depth electrode recordings of epileptic patients being evaluated for surgical resection. The general approach is to investigate the brain activity at dif... expand abstractferent locations as recorded by the different electrodes in an attempt to localize the epileptogenic focus or foci. Currently, most of the methods are based on the notion that epileptogenic brain activity is associated with changes in synchronization and in complexity. Here we present a method that is based on the temporal dynamics combined with the spectral distribution of energy in terms of frequency-entropy (FE) templates. The FE templates are based upon maximum information partitioning into a set of frequency bands. The FE template is calculated by wavelet packet decomposition followed by an application of the best basis algorithm minimizing the entropy cost function. A comparison between two FE templates is performed by a special quantitative similarity measure according to the overlap in the partitioning into frequency bands and weighted by the bands' entropy. For localization of the epileptogenic foci, the templates of each electrode during the interictal period are compared with a representative template evaluated from the ensemble of all electrodes during the ictal period. We suggest associating the locations that reveal high template similarity to the ictal template with the epileptogenic foci. To test the method and the underlying assumptions, we perform retrospective analysis of the recorded brain activity, from both grid and depth electrodes, from 11 patients suffering from medically intractable epilepsy. Application of the ictal-interictal FE template similarity analysis revealed regions in the epileptic brain in which the interictal characteristics are highly similar to those of the ictal period. To asses the foci we compared the interictal templates of the different electrodes to each other, forming interelectrode similarity matrices. Investigation of these similarity matrices revealed the existence of a single distinct subcluster of electrodes with high interelectrode similarity in the brain activity of seven patients (type-I activity), and the existence of multiple high interelectrode similarity subclusters in the activity of four patients (type-II activity). Comparisons of the analysis results to the medical presurgical evaluations and the outcomes of the surgical resections suggest that the method may be helpful in the chronic evaluation of the epileptogenic zone before operation, and in some cases (type-I activity) without the need to wait for seizures to occur. collapse abstract

Frequency domain analysis of human subdural recordings.

SUMMARY: It is possible to localize many aspects of cortical function and dysfunction without the use of direct electrical stimulation of cortex. This study explores the degree to which information can be obtained about functional cortical organizati... expand abstracton relative to epileptogenic regions through analysis of electrocorticographic recordings in the frequency domain. Information about the extent of seizure regions and the location of the normal sensory and motor homunculus and some higher language and memory related areas can be obtained through the analysis of task-related power spectrum changes and changes in lateral interelectrode coherence patterns calculated from interictal and ictal recordings. collapse abstract

Evaluation of cortical current density imaging methods using intracranial electrocorticograms and functional MRI.

OBJECTIVE: EEG source imaging provides important information regarding the underlying neural activity from noninvasive electrophysiological measurements. The aim of the present study was to evaluate source reconstruction techniques by means of the in... expand abstracttracranial electrocorticograms (ECoGs) and functional MRI. METHODS: Five source imaging algorithms, including the minimum norm least square (MNLS), LORETA with L(p)-norm (p equal to 1, 1.5 and 2), sLORETA, the minimum L(p)-norm (p equal to 1 and 1.5; when p=2, the MNLS method is mathematically equivalent to the minimum L(p)-norm) and L(1)-norm (the linear programming) methods, were evaluated in a group of 10 human subjects, in a paradigm with somatosensory stimulation. Cortical current density (CCD) distributions were estimated from the scalp somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs), at approximately 30 ms following electrical stimulation of median nerve at the wrist. Realistic geometry boundary element head models were constructed from the MRIs of each subject and used in the CCD analysis. Functional MRI results obtained from a motor task and sensory stimulation in all subjects were used to identify the central sulcus, motor and sensory areas. In three patients undergoing neurosurgical evaluation, ECoGs were recorded in response to the somatosensory stimulation, and were used to help determine the central sulcus and the sensory cortex. RESULTS: The CCD distributions estimated by the L(p)-norm and LORETA-L(p) methods were smoother when the p values were high. The LORETA based on the L(1)-norm performed better than the LORETA-L(2) method for imaging well localized sources such as the P30 component of the SEP. The mean and standard deviation of the distance between the location of maximum CCD value and the central sulcus, estimated by the minimum L(p)-norm (with p equal to 1), L(1)-norm (the Linear programming) and LORETA-L(p) (with p equal to 1) methods, were 4, 7, 7 mm and 3, 4, 2 mm, respectively (after converting into Talairach coordinates). The mean and standard deviation of the aforementioned distance, estimated by the MNLS, LORETA with L(p)-norm (p equal to 1.5 and 2.0), sLORETA and the minimum L(p)-norm (p equal to 1.5) methods, were over 11 mm and 6 mm, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The present experimental study suggests that L(1)-norm-based algorithms provide better performance than L(2) and L(1.5)-norm-based algorithms, in the context of CCD imaging of well localized sources induced by somatosensory electrical stimulation of median nerve at the wrist. collapse abstract

Time-invariant person-specific frequency templates in human brain activity.

The various human brain tasks are performed at different locations and time scales. Yet, we discovered the existence of time-invariant (above an essential time scale) partitioning of the brain activity into personal state-specific frequency bands. Fo... expand abstractr that, we perform temporal and ensemble averaging of best wavelet packet bases from multielectrode electroencephalogram recordings. These personal frequency bands provide new templates for quantitative analyses of brain function, e.g., normal versus epileptic activity. collapse abstract

Mutually suppressive interrelations of symmetric epileptic foci in bitemporal epilepsy and their inhibitory stimulation.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study is to analyze the suppressive interaction of symmetric temporal lobe epileptic foci, assess some failures of epilepsy surgery, and evaluate the possibility of terminating focal seizures with stimulation of symmetric... expand abstract epileptic foci. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and twenty-nine intractable epilepsy patients (age range 6-53 years) with bitemporal epileptiform abnormalities in multiple scalp EEGs were evaluated with chronically implanted depth and subdural electrodes. Interelectrode coherence and power spectra were studied using internally developed software. RESULTS: Bitemporal epileptic foci were found in 85/129 (66%) patients with reciprocal relations between these foci in 57/85 (67%) patients. Temporal lobectomy was performed for 67/85 patients. 12/67 patients became free of seizures (Engel's Class I), 32/67 improved (Classes II and III), and 23/67 did not improve. 14/23 patients demonstrated post-surgical activation of the contralateral temporal lobe epileptic focus. For 8/14 of these patients, the stereotactic cryoamygdalatomy was performed in the temporal lobe contralateral to the first surgery. 5/8 patients became free of seizures. It was found that stimulation of temporal lobe deep epileptic focus may terminate focal seizures in the contralateral symmetric structures. CONCLUSION: A mutually suppressive relationship is one of variants of the interaction of symmetric epileptic foci. Some epilepsy surgery failures may be a result of post-surgical activation of the intact focus. The increase of coherence between both temporal lobes before the seizure onset of the seizure suggests the establishment of functional interrelations between two epileptic foci at an early, "hidden" phase of seizures, and may predict the direction of seizure spread. Mutually suppressive interrelations of symmetric epileptic foci might be employed for chronic therapeutic stimulation. collapse abstract

Locating chronically implanted subdural electrodes using surface reconstruction.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the accuracy of locating subdural electrodes by means of 3-D surface rendering of CT scans. METHODS: Open source software has been developed and posted on the web which segments the electrodes into 3-D surfaces and allows thei... expand abstractr 3-D locations to be exported to other EEG analysis programs. The accuracy of the technique was determined by studying 410 subdural electrodes implanted in four epilepsy patients. Accuracy was determined by comparing the locations from the rendering analysis to the locations of the same electrodes determined by conventional analysis of their appearance on individual CT slices. RESULTS: The average accuracy of a study of 410 electrodes imaged in four patients repeated two times by three observers was 0.91 (+/- 0.41) mm, with a maximum error of 3.3 mm, about half of the diameter of an electrode. CONCLUSIONS: The location of subdural electrodes can easily and quickly be determined within high-resolution CT scans through the use of 3-D rendering. SIGNIFICANCE: This relatively fast and easy method for determining the location of subdural electrodes should facilitate their use in both clinical and research investigations. collapse abstract

Estimation of in vivo human brain-to-skull conductivity ratio from simultaneous extra- and intra-cranial electrical potential recordings.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to accurately estimate the in vivo brain-to-skull conductivity ratio by means of cortical imaging technique. Simultaneous extra- and intra-cranial potential recordings induced by subdural current stimulation were ana... expand abstractlyzed to get the estimation. METHODS: The effective brain-to-skull conductivity ratio was estimated in vivo for 5 epilepsy patients. The estimation was performed using multi-channel simultaneously recorded scalp and cortical electrical potentials during subdural electrical stimulation. The cortical imaging technique was used to compute the inverse cortical potential distribution from the scalp recorded potentials using a 3-shell head volume conductor model. The brain-to-skull conductivity ratio, which leads to the most consistent cortical potential estimates with respect to the direct intra-cranial measurements, is considered to be the effective brain-to-skull conductivity ratio. RESULTS: The present estimation provided consistent results in 5 human subjects studied. The in vivo effective brain-to-skull conductivity ratio ranged from 18 to 34 in the 5 epilepsy patients. CONCLUSIONS: The effective brain-to-skull conductivity ratio can be estimated from simultaneous intra- and extra-cranial potential recordings and the averaged value/standard deviation is 25+/-7. SIGNIFICANCE: The present results provide important experimental data on the brain-to-skull conductivity ratio, which is of significance for accurate brain source localization using piece-wise homogeneous head models. collapse abstract

Visuotopic mapping through a multichannel stimulating implant in primate V1.

We report on our efforts to establish an animal model for the development and testing of a cortical visual prostheses. One-hundred-fifty-two electrodes were implanted in the primary visual cortex of a rhesus monkey. The electrodes were made from irid... expand abstractium with an activated iridium oxide film, which has a large charge capacity for a given surface area, and insulated with parylene-C. One-hundred-fourteen electrodes were functional after implantation. The activity of small (2-3) neuronal clusters was first recorded to map the visually responsive region corresponding to each electrode. The animal was then trained in a memory (delayed) saccade task, first with a visual target, then to a target defined by direct cortical stimulation with coordinates specified by the stimulating electrode's mapped receptive field. The SD of saccade endpoints was approximately 2.5 larger for electrically stimulated versus visual saccades; nevertheless, when trial-to-trial scatter was averaged out, the correlation between saccade end points and receptive field locations was highly significant and approached unity after several months of training. Five electrodes were left unused until the monkey was fully trained; when these were introduced, the receptive field-saccade correlations were high on the first day of use (R = 0.85, P = 0.03 for angle, R = 0.98, P < 0.001 for eccentricity), indicating that the monkey had not learned to perform the task empirically by memorizing reward zones. The results of this experiment suggest the potential for rigorous behavioral testing of cortical visual prostheses in the macaque. collapse abstract

American Board of Neurophysiologic Monitoring intraoperative monitoring credentialing is for physicians, too.

High-resolution EEG: cortical potential imaging of interictal spikes.

BACKGROUND: It is of clinical importance to localize pathologic brain tissue in epilepsy. Noninvasive localization of cortical areas associated with interictal epileptiform spikes may provide important information to facilitate presurgical planning f... expand abstractor intractable epilepsy patients. METHODS: A cortical potential imaging (CPI) technique was used to deconvolve the smeared scalp potentials into the cortical potentials. A 3-spheres inhomogeneous head model was used to approximately represent the head volume conductor. Five pediatric epilepsy patients were studied. The estimated cortical potential distributions of interictal spikes were compared with the subsequent surgical resections of these same patients. RESULTS: The areas of negativity in the reconstructed cortical potentials of interictal spikes in 5 patients were consistent with the areas of surgical resections for these patients. CONCLUSIONS: The CPI technique may become a useful alternative for noninvasive mapping of cortical regions displaying epileptiform activity from scalp electroencephalogram recordings. collapse abstract

Seizure anticipation in pediatric epilepsy: use of Kolmogorov entropy.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate feasibility of using trends in Kolmogorov entropy to anticipate seizures in pediatric patients with intractable epilepsy. Surface and intracranial recordings of preseizure and seizure activity were obtained... expand abstract from five patients and subjected to time series analysis using Kolmogorov entropy. This metric was compared with correlation dimension and power indices, both known to predict seizures in some adult patients. We used alarm levels and introduced regression analysis as a quantitative approach to the analysis of trends. Surrogate time series evaluated data nonlinearity, as a precondition to the use of nonlinear measures. Seizures were anticipated before clinical or electrographic seizure onset for three of the five patients from the intracranial recordings, and in two of five patients from the scalp recordings. Anticipation times varied between 2 and 40 minutes. This is the first report in which simultaneous surface and intracranial recording are used for seizure prediction in children. We conclude that the Kolmogorov entropy and power indices were as effective as the more commonly used correlation dimension in anticipating seizures. Further, regression analysis of the Kolmogorov entropy time series is feasible, making the analysis of data trends more objective. collapse abstract

Noninvasive identification of human central sulcus: a comparison of gyral morphology, functional MRI, dipole localization, and direct cortical mapping.

The locations of the human primary hand cortical somatosensory and motor areas were estimated using structural and functional MRI, scalp-recorded somatosensory-evoked potential dipole localization, expert judgments based on cortical anatomy, and dire... expand abstractct cortical stimulation and recording studies. The within-subject reliability of localization (across 3 separate days) was studied for eight normal subjects. Intraoperative validation was obtained from five neurosurgical patients. The mean discrepancy between the different noninvasive functional imaging methods ranged from 6 to 26 mm. Quantitative comparison of the noninvasive methods with direct intraoperative stimulation and recording studies did not reveal a significant mean difference in accuracy. However, the expert judgments of the location of the sensory hand areas were significantly more variable (maximum error, 39 mm) than the dipole or functional MRI techniques. It is concluded that because expert judgments are less reliable for identifying the cortical hand area, consideration of the findings of noninvasive functional MRI and dipole localization studies is desirable for preoperative surgical planning. collapse abstract

Transient inability to distinguish between faces: electrophysiologic studies.

It is not known with certainty at which level of face processing by the cortex the distinction between a familiar and an unfamiliar face is made. Subdural electrodes were implanted under the fusiform gyrus of the right temporal lobe in a patient who ... expand abstractdeveloped an unusual inability to distinguish differences between faces as part of the epileptic aura ("all faces looked the same"). A cortical region located posterior to the epileptic focus was identified that exhibited a maximum evoked response to the presentation of facial images (N165), but not to objects, scenes, or character strings. Evoked potentials elicited by a variety of visual images indicated that any perturbation away from novel whole-face stimuli produced submaximal responses from this region of the right temporal lobe. Electrical stimulation of this region resulted in an impairment of face discrimination. It was found that presentation of familiar faces (grandmother, treating physician) produced a different response from that observed for novel faces. These observations demonstrate that within 165 msec of face presentation, and before the conscious precept of face familiarity has formed, this cortical region has already begun to distinguish between a familiar and an unfamiliar face. collapse abstract

Boundary element method-based cortical potential imaging of somatosensory evoked potentials using subjects' magnetic resonance images.

A boundary element method-based cortical potential imaging technique has been developed to directly link the scalp potentials with the cortical potentials with the aid of magnetic resonance images of the subjects. First, computer simulations were con... expand abstractducted to evaluate the new approach in a concentric three-sphere inhomogeneous head model. Second, the corresponding cortical potentials were estimated from the patients' preoperative scalp somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) based on the boundary element models constructed from subjects' magnetic resonance images and compared to the postoperative direct cortical potential recordings in the same patients. Simulation results demonstrated that the cortical potentials can be estimated from the scalp potentials using different scalp electrode configurations and are robust against measurement noise. The cortical imaging analysis of the preoperative scalp SEPs recorded from patients using the present approach showed high consistency in spatial pattern with the postoperative direct cortical potential recordings. Quantitative comparison between the estimated and the directly recorded subdural grid potentials resulted in reasonably high correlation coefficients in cases studied. Amplitude difference between the estimated and the recorded potentials was also observed as indexed by the relative error, and the possible underlying reasons are discussed. The present numerical and experimental results validate the boundary element method-based cortical potential imaging approach and demonstrate the feasibility of the new approach in noninvasive high-resolution imaging of brain electric activities from scalp potential measurement and magnetic resonance images. collapse abstract

Reorganization of the hand somatosensory cortex following perinatal unilateral brain injury.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to map the hand somatosensory cortices of nine hemiparetic young adult patients with perinatal unilateral brain injury in the sensorimotor area and five normal subjects. Stimulation of the paretic hand b... expand abstracty periodic manual squeezing produced activation in the contralateral hemisphere of three patients and in the ipsilateral hemisphere of three other patients. Paretic hand stimulation produced no activation in either hemisphere of the remaining three patients. Therefore, one-third of the patients demonstrated functional "plasticity" of the brain in the form of inter-hemispheric relocation of the hand somatosensory function. The volume and pattern of activation for both hands was altered for those patients that showed evidence of cortical reorganization to the opposite hemisphere. This differs from the hand motor system, which exhibited inter-hemispheric reorganization in a higher proportion of a related group of hemiparetic subjects. collapse abstract

Electrocorticographic coherence patterns.

The availability of implantable subdural electrode arrays has made systematic studies of electrocorticographic (ECoG) coherence possible. Studies of coherence patterns recorded directly from human cortex are reviewed along with the presentation of or... expand abstractiginal human clinical data, which reveal reliable and characteristic patterns of coherence. A data-driven technique for discriminating between reliable and unreliable coherence and phase values is described and used to reveal the relationship between coherence and cortical anatomy, such as in the region of the central sulcus, where low phase coherence declines and high phase-shifted coherence increases. Analysis of coherence magnitude and phase makes it possible to determine which signals likely arise from the cortical surface, and which arise from the depths of a sulcus. Alterations in coherence patterns caused by tumors or epilepsy are described and may be used to identify normal and pathological functional relationships between distant cortical areas. Some electrophysiologic/pathologic correlations indicate at least two types of epileptic abnormality, implying a sequence in breakdown of epileptic tissue. The relationship between coherence patterns and behavior and cognition is introduced and compared to similar studies of single-unit binding in animals. collapse abstract

Intra-operative localization of sensorimotor cortex by cortical somatosensory evoked potentials: from analysis of waveforms to dipole source modeling.

Intra-operative localization of sensorimotor cortex is of increasing importance as neurosurgical techniques allow safe and accurate removal of lesions around the central sulcus. Although direct cortical recordings of somatosensory evoked potentials (... expand abstractSEPs) are known to be helpful for cortical localization, source localization models can provide more precise estimates than subjective visual analysis. In addition to intra-operative analysis of waveforms and amplitudes of SEPs to median nerve stimulation in 20 neurosurgical patients, we used a spatiotemporal dipole model to determine the location of the equivalent dipoles consistent with the cortical distribution of the SEPs. The early cortical SEPs were modeled by 2 equivalent dipoles located in the postcentral gyrus. The first dipole was primarily tangentially oriented and explained N20 and P20 peaks. The second dipole was primarily radially oriented and explained P25 activity. We found consistent localization of the first dipole in the postcentral gyrus, which was always located within 8 mm of the central sulcus, with an average distance of 3 mm. This finding provides an objective basis for using the SEP phase reversal method for cortical localization. We conclude that dipole source modeling of the cortical SEPs can be considered as an objective way of localizing the cortical hand sensory area. collapse abstract

Auditory brain stem response in young and old guinea pigs.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize age-related auditory changes in genetically similar guinea pigs. BACKGROUND: In humans and animals, changes in hearing are known to occur with age. METHODS: Brain stem-evoked responses were measured in genetically similar g... expand abstractuinea pigs that ranged 6-36 months in age. Changes in hearing and the input/output function curve were determined. RESULTS: Threshold shift with increase in age was seen. Marked reduction in amplitude of response with increasing age was also demonstrated. No change was seen in latency or interpeak interval. CONCLUSIONS: In genetically similar guinea pigs, age-related changes in threshold occurred. Latency and interpeak intervals remained unchanged. Amplitude of response decreased substantially after 12 months of age to a greater extent than predicted by threshold shifts alone. This phenomenon appears important in understanding the pathophysiology of age-related hearing loss. collapse abstract

Identification of the sensorymotor area and pathologic regions using ECoG coherence.

An electrophysiologic mapping technique which enables identification of the central sulcus and pathologic cortical regions is described. Electrocorticographic recordings of 1 min duration were recorded from 25 patients who were undergoing resection o... expand abstractf tumors in the sensory-motor region or being evaluated for temporal lobectomy for epilepsy. Analysis of the patterns of subdural inter-electrode coherence revealed low coherence across the central sulcus for 11/12 cases where its location could be verified with direct cortical stimulation and/or somatosensory evoked potential mapping. Regions of high coherence identified the location of tumors in the sensory-motor region for 10/10 cases. Over the temporal lobe, localized areas of high coherence were evident in 8/9 epilepsy patients, but were not indicative of the location of mesial temporal lobe tumors or inter-ictal spiking, when present. We conclude that analysis of cortical coherence patterns may be helpful for revealing the location of pathologic processes relative to critical cortical areas. collapse abstract

Maturation of human visual evoked potentials: 27 weeks conceptional age to 2 years.

Visual evoked potentials to pattern reversal and diffuse flash stimulation were recorded from 520 consecutive pediatric patients and 11 normal infants between the ages of 27 weeks post-conception and 24 months. The latency and peak-to-peak amplitude ... expand abstractof the first reproducible positive peak of the binocular pattern visual evoked potential (P100) were measured for five check sizes subtending from 15' to 4 degrees of arc. Three developmental trends were noted: 1) a rapid increase in pattern resolution near term, 2) a subsequent decrease in the latency of P100, and 3) a gradual increase in the amplitude of P100. These three trends reflect the multiplicity of early maturation and are discussed in terms of changes in receptor growth and density, pathway myelination, and cortical synaptivity. collapse abstract

Saccular influence on the otolith-spinal reflex and posture during sudden falls of the cat.

HYPOTHESIS: The saccule provides important input for the otolith spinal reflex during sudden falls in the cat. BACKGROUND: Previous studies on cats have identified two distinct components of muscle activity in response to sudden falls: an early otoli... expand abstractth-dependent component (OSR) and a later nonlabyrinthine component associated with landing. The presence of an otolith-dependent reflex suggests a discrete role of the otolith organs in the control of posture and locomotion. METHODS: The influence of saccular input on the OSR during sudden falls was studied by simultaneous video and electromyographic (EMG) recordings obtained from saccular-deficient deaf white cats and white cats with normal hearing. RESULTS: A total of 628 sudden falls from five cats (two normal, one unilaterally deaf and two bilaterally deaf) were studied. Normal cats had a total of 337 drops, 276 of which (82%) were acceptable; a unilaterally deaf cat had a total of 79 drops, 56 of which (71%) were acceptable; deaf cats had a total of 212 drops, 177 of which (83%) were acceptable. The earliest of five observed behavioral events was that of forelimb extension which had a mean latency of 98 +/- 32 msec in normal cats and 139 +/- 28 msec in deaf cats (p < 0.0001). The mean latency of early EMG activity in normal cats was 19 +/- 7 msec and in deaf cats was 30 +/- 13 msec (p < 0.0001). The unilaterally deaf cat exhibited behavior and early EMG responses that were similar to those of normal cats. Deaf cats displayed poor body control during landings that improved with experience. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that the saccule provides important input for the otolith spinal reflex in the cat, and cats that lack both saccules have discernible behavioral and EMG differences in response to sudden falls, when compared with normal cats. collapse abstract