Event-related brain activity during observation of simple motor behaviour in minimally conscious state (MCS) patients

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Event-related brain activity during observation of simple motor behaviour in minimally conscious state (MCS) patients Julia Lechinger1*, Nicole Chwala-Schlegel1, Theresa Stemeseder1, Robert Fellinger2 and Manuel Schabus1 1 Lab for Sleep & Consciousness, Univ. of Salzburg, Austria 2 Oscillations, Brain & Thinking Laboratory, Univ. of Salzburg, Austria Estimating cognitive functioning in patients suffering from Disorders of Consciousness (DOC) by use of behavioural measures is often challenging. Therefore it can be highly desirable to identify brain correlates such as event-related electroencephalography (EEG) which can be systematically associated with specific diagnoses. EEG from 10 Vegetative State (VS) and 7 Minimally Conscious State (MCS) patients was recorded while patients were shown 2.5 sec videos displaying a right or left arm grabbing a cup and moving it towards an invisible mouth. At the same time the respective command was presented auditorily (“grab right/left and drink”). Event-related de-/synchronisation (ERD/ERS) was calculated and repeated measures ANOVAS DIAGNOSIS x HEMI were conducted for frequencies theta (4-6 Hz), alpha1 (8-10 Hz) and sensory motor rhythm (SMR, 12-15 Hz) as well as for five poststimulus 500 ms windows. First analysis showed that during watching 2.5 sec videos displaying simple motor behaviour MCS patients showed stronger parieto-occipital alpha1 ERD than VS patients [left arm movement (lARM): 500-1000 ms, F = 6.57, p < .05; right arm movement (rARM): 1500-200 0ms, contralaterally only, F = 5.43, p < .05]. Furthermore SMR ERS was stronger in MCS than VS patients at central sites [lARM:1500-2000, contralaterally stronger, F = 6.05, p < .05; rARM: 1000-1500 ms, F = 8.7, p < .05] as well as at parietal sites [lARM: 1000-1500 ms, F = 11.96, p < .01; rARM: 1000-1500, F = 6.33, p < .05]. Here MCS patients - as compared to VS patients - showed specific brain activation in the alpha and SMR frequency band indicating that they were to some extent able to understand and to mirror a simple reaching movement. Keywords: EEG, Neuropsychiatry Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Sessions: Neuropsychiatric Applications Citation: Lechinger J, Chwala-Schlegel N, Stemeseder T, Fellinger R and Schabus M (2011). Event-related brain activity during observation of simple motor behaviour in minimally conscious state (MCS) patients. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00237 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 21 Nov 2011; Published Online: 28 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Julia Lechinger, Lab for Sleep & Consciousness, Univ. of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria, julia.lechinger@sbg.ac.at Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Julia Lechinger Nicole Chwala-Schlegel Theresa Stemeseder Robert Fellinger Manuel Schabus Google Julia Lechinger Nicole Chwala-Schlegel Theresa Stemeseder Robert Fellinger Manuel Schabus Google Scholar Julia Lechinger Nicole Chwala-Schlegel Theresa Stemeseder Robert Fellinger Manuel Schabus PubMed Julia Lechinger Nicole Chwala-Schlegel Theresa Stemeseder Robert Fellinger Manuel Schabus Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.