Amygdala In Patients Research Articles

Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Computer-Assisted Stereotactic Resection of the Hippocampus and Amygdala in Patients With Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

In patients with medically intractable complex partial seizures of temporal lobe origin, stereotactic amygdalohippocampectomy can now provide excellent results. Target structures can be accurately identified and completely resected with use of a carbon dioxide laser. In a series of 18 patients who underwent this computer-interactive procedure, all experienced a cessation or dramatic reduction in frequency of seizure activity. Because the inferior optic radiations are disrupted with use of the posterolateral approach, nondisabling postoperative visual field deficits always ensue. In addition, two of our patients who underwent left-sided procedures had transient minor speech problems, perhaps attributable to postoperative swelling of the lateral temporal lobe. Patients in whom a surface electroencephalogram discloses a posterior temporal focus of seizure activity are candidates for stereotactic amygdalohippocampectomy.

Amygdaloid changes in aging and dementia.

A quantitative and clincally correlated investigation was carried out to determine the divisional distribution of volumetric and cell-packing density changes in the amygdala in patients with advanced aging and senile dementia. Normal controls show relatively little, but nevertheless significant, age-related change. In contrast, the amygdala undergoes very marked degeneration in patients with senile dementia, which preferentially affects the morphologcially, developmentally, and connectionally older medial, medial central, and cortical nuclei. These findings strengthen the possibility that the amygdala participates in the behavioral changes that occur in senile dementia.

Neuronal activity of the amygdala in patients with psychomotor epilepsy

Microelectrodes were stereotaxically introduced, through a previously implanted cannula, into the amygdala of patients with psychomotor epilepsy. Under laboratory conditions and without anesthesia, recordings of extracellular action potentials and gross waves were obtained during interictal periods. Epileptiform waves were seen in all regions of the amygdala. The neuronal activity consisted, most frequently, of clusters of actions potentials, occasionally associated with trains of waves. During one recording session, a clinical seizure occurred fortuitously and it was possible to follow the electrical events during the preceding minutes. It was found that, as the seizure was approaching, the clustering of neuronal action potentials became progressively more marked, more regularly periodic, and more frequently associated, in time and in phase, with the gross waves, as the latter increased in amplitude and in duration. These progressive changes in the patterns of neuronal activity, in the characteristics of the gross waves, and in their association, were similar to those which have been found to occur in the progressive “hypersynchronization” leading to convulsive states, induced in animals by means of pharmacological agents, and assumed to be related to changes in interactions between groups of neurons in neuronal networks. It is suggested that a similar mechanism may be involved in the development of electrical events preceding the convulsive seizure in the human. Should it become possible to continually detect and monitor such changes in neuronal activity and gross waves, characteristic of an impending seizure, therapeutic measures might be taken in time to prevent it.

ACTION OF BARBITURATES AND CONVULSANTS ON UNIT ACTIVITY OF DIFFUSELY PROJECTING NUCLEI OF THALAMUS

ArticlesACTION OF BARBITURATES AND CONVULSANTS ON UNIT ACTIVITY OF DIFFUSELY PROJECTING NUCLEI OF THALAMUSMarcel Verzeano, Robert Naquet, and Ellen Eva KingMarcel Verzeano, Robert Naquet, and Ellen Eva KingPublished Online:01 Sep 1955https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.1955.18.5.502MoreSectionsPDF (2 MB)Download PDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesGet permissionsTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInWeChat Previous Back to Top Next Download PDF FiguresReferencesRelatedInformation Cited ByIsoflurane prevents transitions to tonic and burst firing modes in thalamic neuronsNeuroscience Letters, Vol. 159, No. 1-2Effects of changes in cortical excitability upon the epileptic bursts in generalized penicillin epilepsy of the catElectroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, Vol. 46, No. 3Striatal control of locomotion, intentional actions and of integrating and perceptive activityJournal of the Neurological Sciences, Vol. 36, No. 2Brainstem reticular formation mechanisms subserving generalized seizures: Effects of convulsants and anticonvulsants on sensory-evoked responsesProgress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology, Vol. 2, No. 4Barbiturate spindle activity in functionally corresponding thalamic and cortical somato-sensory areas in the catBrain Research, Vol. 98, No. 3Effect of barbiturate anesthesia on Discharge patterns in nucleus reticularis thalamiPharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, Vol. 2, No. 3Rhythmic activity in the thalamus of the unanaesthetized decorticate catElectroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, Vol. 31, No. 1Neuronal activity of the amygdala in patients with psychomotor epilepsyNeuropsychologia, Vol. 9, No. 3Effects of intravertebral injection of a barbiturate on unit activity in lower brain stemBrain Research, Vol. 6, No. 3Reticular and thalamic multiple unit activity during wakefulness, sleep and anesthesiaExperimental Neurology, Vol. 19, No. 1Acton of central nervous system stimulant and depressant drugs in the intact animalEuropean Journal of Pharmacology, Vol. 1, No. 4Periodic activity in the visual system of the catVision Research, Vol. 7, No. 3-4�ber die Wirkung von Barbituraten und Amphetamin auf die Entladungst�tigkeit corticaler NeuroneNaunyn-Schmiedebergs Archiv f�r Experimentelle Pathologie und Pharmakologie, Vol. 249, No. 2The electroencephalogram in sleepElectroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, Vol. 16, No. 1-2Excitability changes in non-specific thalamic nuclei during cortical spreading depression in the ratElectroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, Vol. 15, No. 1Neuronal activity in the lateral geniculate body and the nucleus reticularis of the thalamusVision Research, Vol. 1, No. 5-6 More from this issue > Volume 18Issue 5September 1955Pages 502-512 https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.1955.18.5.502PubMed13252438History Published online 1 September 1955 Published in print 1 September 1955 Metrics