Cz Regions Research Articles

Synchronous monitoring of brain-heart electrophysiology using heart rate variability coupled with rapid quantitative electroencephalography in orthostatic hypotension patients with α-synucleinopathies: Rapid prediction of orthostatic hypotension and preliminary exploration of brain stimulation therapy.

In α-synucleinopathies, the dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system which typically manifests as orthostatic hypotension (OH) often leads to severe consequences and poses therapeutic challenges. This study aims to discover the brain-cardiac electrophysiological changes in OH patients with α-synucleinopathies using the rapid quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) coupled with heart rate variability (HRV) technique to identify rapid, noninvasive biomarkers for early warning and diagnosis, as well as shed new light on complementary treatment approaches such as brain stimulation targets. In this study, 26 subjects of α-synucleinopathies with OH (α-OH group), 21 subjects of α-synucleinopathies without OH (α-NOH group), and 34 healthy controls (control group) were included from September 2021 to August 2023 (NCT05527067). The heart rate-blood pressure variations in supine and standing positions were monitored, and synchronization parameters of seated resting-state HRV coupled with qEEG were collected. Time-domain and frequency-domain of HRV measures as well as peak frequency and power of the brainwaves were extracted. Differences between these three groups were compared, and correlations between brain-heart parameters were analyzed. The research results showed that the time-domain parameters such as MxDMn, pNN50, RMSSD, and SDSD of seated resting-state HRV exhibited a significant decrease only in the α-OH group compared to the healthy control group (p < 0.05), while there was no significant difference between the α-NOH group and the healthy control group. Several time-domain and frequency-domain parameters of seated resting-state HRV were found to be correlated with the blood pressure changes within the first 5 min of transitioning from supine to standing position (p < 0.05). Differences were observed in the power of beta1 waves (F4 and Fp2) and beta2 waves (Fp2 and F4) in the seated resting-state qEEG between the α-OH and α-NOH groups (p < 0.05). The peak frequency of theta waves in the Cz region also showed a difference (p < 0.05). The power of beta2 waves in the Fp2 and F4 brain regions correlated with frequency-domain parameters of HRV (p < 0.05). Additionally, abnormal electrical activity in the alpha, theta, and beta1 waves was associated with changes in heart rate and blood pressure within the first 5 min of transitioning from supine to standing position (p < 0.05). Rapid resting-state HRV with certain time-domain parameters below normal levels may serve as a predictive indicator for the occurrence of orthostatic hypotension (OH) in patients with α-synucleinopathies. Additionally, the deterioration of HRV parameters correlates with synchronous abnormal qEEG patterns, which can provide insights into the brain stimulation target areas for OH in α-synucleinopathy patients.

Measurement of Beta and Theta Brain Wave Coherence with Cardiac Wave Rhythm in Managers with Rational Decision-Making Style Based on Emotional Intelligence through ERT Cognitive Task

Objective: Since human life and society depend on brain functions, our understanding of the brain and mind can significantly impact all dimensions of human life. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess the coherence of brain waves (EEG) and cardiac wave rhythms (HRV) based on neuroscientific and neurocardiology principles. Methods and Materials: This research utilized an experimental design, specifically a quasi-experimental approach without a control group, and was applied in nature. The statistical population consisted of managers (90 individuals) from both public and private sectors in Gilan Province in 2022. From this population, 30 individuals were randomly selected. Their brain waves and cardiac rhythms were simultaneously recorded in both resting and decision-making states from the CZ region of the brain and triangular regions around the heart using the ProComp 2 neurofeedback tool while performing the emotional intelligence assessment test. The research instrument included the ERT cognitive test (Emotional Recognition Task) designed by Cambridge University in 1980 and administered through the Cantab software and BioGraph Infiniti version 0.6 software. For the purposes of this study, the cognitive task was provided to participants via software. The data were analysed using analysis of variance and mean comparison test via SPSS-26. Findings: The correlation test of brain waves and cardiac waves in resting and cognitive task states showed significant differences. No coherence between EEG and ECG was observed in the resting state compared to the cognitive task state. Conclusion: The results indicate that changes in brain waves and cardiac waves, and the coherence between these waves, vary among managers with similar decision-making styles. These variations depend on the environmental, mental, and emotional conditions of the individuals.

The Effect of Modeling Methods on Mirror Neuron Activity and a Motor Skill Acquisition and Retention.

Mirror neurons have been suggested as a potential neural mechanism of observational learning. This study aims to investigate the effect of self-modeling, skilled model, and learning model on mu rhythm suppression and golf putting acquisition and retention. The study was conducted on 45 male volunteer students (aged 19.4±0.37 years) in three experimental groups, self-modeling, skilled, and learning models with six sessions of physical and observational training in three periods of pre-test, acquisition, and retention. In the pre-test, after the initial familiarity with the skill, participants performed 10 golf putting actions while scores were recorded. Then, electrical brain waves in C3, C4, and Cz regions were recorded during the observation of 10 golf putting actions by their group-related models. The acquisition period consisted of golf putting training during six sessions, each consisting of six blocks of 10 trials. Before each training block, participants observed golf putting related to their group 10 times in the form of a video. Acquisition and delayed retention tests were also performed by recording scores of 10 golf putting actions, as well as recording electrical brain waves while observing the skill performed by the related model. Mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the mu rhythm suppression in the pre-test was more in the self-modeling group compared to the skilled model and learning model groups, but this suppression was not significantly different in all three groups in the acquisition and retention tests. In putting task variables, all three groups that had no significant difference in the pre-test period made considerable progress in learning the desired skill from the pre-test to the acquisition test, and this progress was somewhat stable until the retention test. Also, both in the acquisition and retention periods, the self-modeling group showed better performance than the other two groups; however, no significant difference was observed between these groups. These results suggest that the model-observer similarity is a crucial factor in modeling interventions and can affect the rate of mu rhythm suppression.

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on the Kinetic Parameters of Countermovement Jump in Healthy Non-elite Athletes

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive technique for stimulating the brain that can alter brain excitability. Prior research has indicated that tDCS has the potential to enhance performance by increasing corticospinal excitability or improving muscle recruitment strategies. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether tDCS could enhance kinetic parameters of the countermovement jump (CMJ) in non-elite jumping athletes, specifically focusing on the maximum force, time to maximum force, and rate of force development. Additionally, the study aimed to assess whether any potential improvements persisted after one week. Methods: This study involved the participation of 48 healthy individuals within a double-blinded, randomized controlled design. The participants were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions: Anodal tDCS, sham tDCS, and control. Both the anodal and sham tDCS groups underwent a series of three intervention sessions, with each session occurring 48 hours apart. Kinetic assessment of the lower limb during the CMJ was conducted using a force plate before and after these intervention sessions. Additionally, a follow-up evaluation session was conducted one week after the last intervention session to assess the persistence of the stimulation effects. The control group underwent kinetic assessments of the lower limb during the CMJ within a similar time frame as the other groups. Results: No statistically significant differences were observed for maximum force (P = 0.881), time to maximum force (P = 0.570), and rate of force development (P = 0.474) between the different conditions at any of the assessed time points. Conclusions: Our findings indicated that applying 20 minutes of anodal tDCS at 2 mA over the Cz region did not have an impact on the maximum force, time to maximum force, and rate of force development in the CMJ task among non-elite jumping athletes when compared to the Sham and Control conditions.

Sensorimotor rhythm neurofeedback training and auditory perception

Background/Aim. In everyday communication, people are exposed to a myriad of sounds that need to be sorted and relevant information extracted. The ability of a person to concentrate on certain sounds in a noisy background environment, perform selective attention, and focus their auditory attention is crucial for everyday functioning and communication. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) (12?15 Hz) neurofeedback (NFB) training to improve auditory cognition measured by the achievements in the Quick speech-in-noise (QuickSIN) test, changes in the amplitudes and latencies of components of auditory evoked potentials (AEP) N100, N200, and P300 in the auditory oddball discrimination task, and changes in the spectral power of the SMR. Methods. The study included 16 healthy participants aged 25?40 years (8 males and 8 females). Each participant had 20 daily sessions of SMR NFB training. Auditory cognitive functions and electrophysiological correlates of cognitive processing were recorded 5 times ? before NFB, after 5, 10, and 20 sessions, and one month after the last session of NFB. Re-sults. The results showed a statistically significant decrease in N200 and P300 latencies at frontal midline (Fz), central midline (Cz), and parietal midline (Pz) regions, an improvement on the QuickSIN test, and an increase in electroencephalogram SMR rhythm spectral power in the Cz region as a result of the NFB SMR training. No significant effect of the NFB training on the N100, N200, and P300 amplitudes on Fz, Cz, and Pz was found. Conclusion. The obtained results suggest that SMR NFB affects auditory perception in terms of shorter latencies of AEP and better performance on the QuickSIN test.

EEG-Based Evidence of Mirror Neuron Activity from App-Mediated Stroke Patient Observation.

Background and Objectives: The mirror neuron system in the sensorimotor region of the cerebral cortex is equally activated during both action observation and execution. Action observation training mimics the functioning of the mirror neuron system, requiring patients to watch and imitate the actions necessary to perform activities of daily living. StrokeCare is a user-friendly application based on the principles of action observation training, designed to assist people recovering from stroke. Therefore, when observing the daily life behavior provided in the StrokeCare app, whether the MNS is activated and mu inhibition appears. Materials and Methods: We performed electroencephalography (EEG) on 24 patients with chronic stroke (infarction: 11, hemorrhage: 13) during tasks closely related to daily activities, such as dressing, undressing, and walking. The StrokeCare app provided action videos for patients to watch. Landscape imagery observation facilitated comparison among tasks. We analyzed the mu rhythm from the C3, CZ, and C4 regions and calculated the mean log ratios for comparison of mu suppression values. Results: The EEG mu power log ratios were significantly suppressed during action observation in dressing, undressing, walking, and landscape conditions, in decreasing order. However, there were no significant activity differences in the C3, C4 and CZ regions. The dressing task showed maximum suppression after a color spectrum was used to map the relative power values of the mu rhythm for each task. Conclusions: These findings reveal that the human mirror neuron system was more strongly activated during observation of actions closely related to daily life activities than landscape images.

Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS) as an Optimal Treatment for Schizophrenia Risk Decision: an ERSP Study.

Objective: People with schizophrenia have serious impairments in social function, especially in decision-making ability. Transcranial magnetic stimulation modified intermittent theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (iTBS) has been shown to regulate the functional connection of brain networks. Our study explored the therapeutic effect of iTBS on decision-making disorders in schizophrenia.Methods: Participants were pseudorandomized and assigned to iTBS (n = 16) or sham (n = 16) group. iTBS group was administered 1,800 pulses on the target of the left dorsol lateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) per day for 14 consecutive days. We compared Iowa gambling task performance and associated event-related spectral perturbation results (ERSP) among two groups.Results: The results show that participants' performance in the high-lose in the iTBS group had stronger stimulation of theta spectral power than those in the sham group. Specifically, we found that under high-risk conditions, compared with the control group, the iTBS group showed significant activation of the theta spectrum power in the FPZ, FZ, FCZ, and CZ regions after treatment.Conclusions: Our results provide evidence that long-term iTBS stimulation effectively improves the decision-making ability of schizophrenia. After receiving negative feedback, patients can turn to safety options. These findings support that iTBS may be a potential treatment for clinical decision-making disorders.

Estimation of the cortico-cortical and brain-heart functional coupling with directed transfer function and corrected conditional entropy

Abstract The brain activity involved mental stress can increase the risk of sudden cardiac death in patients with organic and ischemic heart disease. Thus, the interaction between the senior nerve and autonomic nerve has recently been given more attention. The purpose of this study was to analyze the cortico-cortical functional coupling and direction of information flow between the brain and heart during a mental arithmetic (MA) task. Forty-three healthy male volunteer participated in the study. Functional coupling patterns of cerebral cortex and heart activity were determined by directed transfer function (DTF) and corrected conditional entropy (CCE). The experimental results showed that sympathetic activity increased, parasympathetic activity and heart rate variability (HRV) decreased, and the heart rate increased during the was quickened by MA task. Furthermore, a reciprocal pattern was observed in the changes of the autonomic nervous system. Meanwhile, cortico-cortical functional coupling was stronger during the MA task. Activity directed to post-central areas of brain and heart localized to the C4 and Cz regions. Our findings suggest that a stress-inducing mental task may cause an increase in the coupling of brain regions and an increase in heart rate though the increase of sympathetic activity.

The importance of functional hemispheric asymmetry in the assessment of cognitive evoked potentials and reaction time

The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a correlation of latency and amplitude of P300 cognitive potential and the degree of lateralization of brain hemispheres. The study included 60 subjects whose age was between 45 and 56 years. Bioelectric brain activity was recorded using argentum chloride (AgCl) electrodes that were placed at central line of the scalp (over Fz and Cz regions) according to the international 10-20 standard. P300 was generated using 'oddball' paradigm with randomized stimuli: A frequent 1000 Hz tone with an occurrence of 80 % and a 2000 Hz tone (target) with a 20 % occurrence. The measurement is done with the right hand (first recording) and left hand (second recording). All subjects in this study were tested for usage lateralization and showed that they are right-handed. Based on the results of gestural lateralization subjects are divided in three groups. In the group with high degree of lateralization latencies of P300 were significantly lower when dominant hand was used in comparison to non-dominant hand, on Fz electrode (t = 4,162, p<0,01) and Cz electrode (t = 5,302, p<0,01 (p<0.01) and amplitudes of P300 were significantly higher, on Fz electrode (t=-2,725, p<0,05), on Cz electrode (t=2,527, p<0,05). However, there were no statistically significant differences (p>0.05) for latencies and amplitudes of P300 between dominant and non-dominant hand for the group of subjects with weak and average degree of lateralization. In both subject groups, significantly faster RT was measured when dominant hand was used. The P300 cognitive potential and reaction time can contribute to the study of indicators of the functional hemispheric asymmetry of the brain.

Effectiveness of Neuro-feedback on Mathematics Disorder

Background and Purpose: Because of the importance of treatment of learning disorders, this study was conducted to evaluate the treatment of mathematics disorder as one of the learning disabilities by using neurofeedback. Method: In this study, 28 third grade-primary school children were selected by psychiatric interview, academic records and third grade mathematic test result. One group (N=14) received neurofeedback treatment and on the other group (N=14) non-real neurofeedback treatment (sham or placebo) was conducted. Neurofeedback treatment was performed based on enhancement of beta/theta ratio in CZ region. Each child received 20 sessions of neurofeedback therapy for 10-12 weeks. Each session lasted 30 minutes. The mathematics test was done three times: before neurofeedback treatment, after the 20th session, and after a year as a follow up. Results: The two groups were matched for age, education, sex and degree of intelligence and severity of mathematics disorder. The comparison between real and sham groups showed that the effect of real neurofeedback therapy was significant versus sham group (P<0.05). A significant increase was seen in consecutive math results in experimental group compared with sham group (P<0.01). The difference trend was linear (P<0.05). The difference between pre-test and post-test was significant only in males and not significant in females. Conclusion: In group with real neurofeedback therapy, mathematics performance was improved significantly. This neurofeedback effect was also seen after a one-year follow up (P<0.01). In separate evaluation between boys and girls, the significant effect was only seen in boys.

Analysis of EEG rhythms under local sinusoidal ELF magnetic field exposure: An approach to neurofeedback enhancement on attention performance

Although there is no consensus with respect to that if exposed Extremely Low Frequency Magnetic Field (ELF-MF) affects human brain activity for guidelines of brain management, there are some evidences related with human attention changes. Therefore, this study evaluates the effects of 45 Hz sinusoidal ELF (360 μT) at Cz regions, cantered at dominant frequency using Electroencephalogram (EEG) analysis. The purpose was to extracte transient or permanent events as an index for new neurofeedback (NF) system improvement. Twenty-four healthy volunteers aged between 20 and 28 years of age were randomly assigned to one of two groups, which differed in the type of NF training concerning the exposed and non-exposed magnetic field effect on performance in attention tests during NF. Results indicate that theta and beta EEG rhythms variations in exposed group changed more significantly in comparison of traditional NF (P

P300 component of event-related potentials in methamphetamine psychosis and schizophrenia

1. To examine psychophysiological features of MAP psychosis and schizophrenia, P300 component of event-related potentials during an oddball paradigm were recorded in 25 MAP psychotics and 25 schizophrenics. P300 component was evaluated using baseline-to-peak measurement and principal component analysis. 2. P300 amplitude in MAP psychotics was smaller at Fz and Cz region than in the controls. 3.Unlike schizophrenics, P300 amplitude in MAP psychotics was not smaller at Pz region than in the controls. 4. P300 latency in MAP psychotics and schizophrenics were delayed. 5. These results indicted that MAP psychotics have some biological changes in their central nervous system after the remission of acute psychotic state.

Neonatal corticosteroid permanently alters brain activity of epinephrine-synthesizing enzyme in stressed rats

(Accepted December 14th, 1978) The enzyme responsible for the conversion of norepinephrine to epinephrine, phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT; E. C. 2.1.1.28), is present in the adrenal medulla 1, other chromaffin tissues, sympathetic ganglia 4, and the central nervous systemlL Immunofluorescence and radioenzymatic assays have localized PNMT in discrete brain regions including the hypothalamus 10,15. Cell bodies contai- ning the enzyme are restricted to two cell groups in the rostral medulla of the brain stem, the ventral C1 region and the dorsal Cz region, areas which have established roles in cardiovascular regulation. The activity of non-specific N-methyltransferase is negligible in the brain stem 14. Epinephrine levels are reported to vary directly with PNMT activity in both adrenal and brainlZ, 19. Glucocorticoids are required for maximal activity of adrenal PNMT. In intact rats the physiological level of circulating corticosteroid appears to be virtually optimally effective, since supernormal levels of exogenous steroid do not result in increased activity of PNMT 3,~0. In perinatal rats, treatment with the potent synthetic glucocorticoid, dexameth- asone, produces a marked rise in PNMT activity in the superior cervical ganglion and other ganglia 8,11. This increased is transitory, with enzyme activity falling rapidly after cessation of treatment. Neonatal dexamethasone administration has also been shown to increase PNMT activity in both hypothalamus and brain stem medullalL In brain, the effect of glucocorticoid on PNMT activity has been examined only acutely, at the termination of steroid treatment. We wished to determine whether the neonatal enhancement of brain PNMT activity by dexamethasone might be a permanent effect. Such a finding would suggest that perinatal stress, with its concomitant rise in circulating glucocorticoids, as well as exposure to exogenous corticoids, can affect the level of synthesis of epinephrine in the adult animal. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats from Charles River were received in mid- gestation. We pooled the pups on the day following parturition, and randomly * To whom all correspondence should be sent at the following address: Departments of Psychology and Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va. 24061, U.S.A.