Left Frontal Lobe Research Articles

0187 Brain Connectivity and Parenting: Association between Familial Factors and Sleep EEG Coherence in Infancy

Abstract Introduction Brain connectivity is tied to cognitive development and behavior. Previous work suggests that interactions with the environment tune the maturing patterns of brain connectivity. As the relevant environmental factors remain largely unknown, we examined whether the sleep-related familial context is associated with infant brain functional connectivity measured through sleep EEG coherence. Methods At-home 124-channel sleep EEG was recorded in 31 healthy infants aged 5.5 to 7.4 months (mean age=5.9±0.5mo; 15 females). Coherence was calculated for the first 80 20-second epochs of NREM sleep in delta (0.75–4.25Hz) and sigma (9.75–14.75Hz) bands, frequencies undergoing pronounced maturational dynamics. We averaged coherence within three regions over the frontal lobe (left, central, right) identified as regions with the strongest connectivity through data-driven clustering. For these regions and bands, linear regression models quantified the association between coherence and familial context, i.e., scores from the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire (i.e., sleeping arrangement and bedtime routine), Baby Care Questionnaire (i.e., Structure and Attunement subscales reflecting parental principles regarding infant sleep regularity), Maternal Cognitions about Infant’s Sleep (i.e., total score), age and sex. The best-fitting model was selected through backward selection (Akaike information criterion). Results Surprisingly, sex was the most consistent contributor across regions and bands, with girls exhibiting greater coherence than boys (FDR-corrected 0.004≤p≤0.038). Furthermore, older infants showed lower sigma coherence over the right frontal lobe (FDR-corrected 0.002≤p≤0.004). Additionally, infants co-sleeping with parents or siblings demonstrated lower delta and sigma coherence over the right frontal lobe than infants sleeping in their own bed (FDR-corrected 0.001<p≤0.025). Similarly, fewer maternal worries regarding the infant’s sleep were associated with lower sigma coherence in the right frontal region (FDR-corrected p=0.014). Finally, more regular bedtime routines were linked to increased delta coherence over the left frontal lobe (FDR-corrected p=0.014). Conclusion Based on previous observations indicating that in healthy children the right hemisphere develops first with a subsequent shift in asymmetry to the left, we propose that environmental factors such as co-sleeping, fewer parental worries, and more structured sleeping routines in infancy may serve as targets for early interventions to support this process and thereby healthy brain development. Support (If Any) This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (PCEFP1 181279) and the University of Zurich (Medical Faculty; Forschungskredit FK 18 047; Stiftung für wissenschaftliche Forschung STWF 17 008).

58-year-old Male with a Headache, Hand Numbness, and Phantosmia.

IntroductionA 58-year-old male presents to the emergency department with headache, hand numbness, and phantosmia.Case PresentationMagnetic resonance imaging showed multiple acute and early subacute lesions involving the cortex and subcortical white matter of the left frontal lobe, left parietal lobe, left temporal lobe, left caudate, and left putamen.DiscussionThis case takes the reader through the subtle findings that led to the diagnosis and ultimately to treatment.

Exposure to DDT and DDE and functional neuroimaging in adolescents from the CHAMACOS cohort

BackgroundEpidemiological studies suggest that exposure to p,p’-dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (p,p’-DDT) is associated with poorer cognitive function in children and adolescents, but the neural mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. ObjectiveWe investigated associations of prenatal and childhood exposure to p,p’-DDT and its metabolite p,p’-dichloro-diphenyl-dichloroethylene (p,p’-DDE) with cortical activation in adolescents using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). MethodsWe administered fNIRS to 95 adolescents from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) aged 15–17 years. We assessed cortical activity in the frontal, temporal, and parietal brain regions while participants completed tasks of executive function, language comprehension, and social cognition. We measured serum p,p’-DDT and -DDE concentrations at age 9 years and then estimated exposure-outcome associations using linear regression models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics. In secondary analyses, we back-extrapolated prenatal concentrations using prediction models and examined their association with cortical activation. ResultsMedian (P25–P75) p,p’-DDT and -DDE concentrations in childhood were 1.4 (1–2.3) and 141.5 (75.0–281.3) ng/g lipid, respectively. We found that childhood exposure to p,p’-DDT and -DDE was associated with altered patterns of brain activation during tasks of cognition and executive functions. For example, we observed increased activity in the left frontal lobe during a language comprehension task (β per 10 ng/g lipid increase of serum p,p’-DDE at age 9 years = 3.4; 95% CI: 0.0, 6.9 in the left inferior frontal lobe; and β = 4.2; 95% CI: 0.9, 7.5 in the left superior frontal lobe). We found no sex differences in the associations of childhood p,p’-DDT and -DDE concentrations with neural activity. Associations between prenatal p,p’-DDT and p,p’-DDE concentrations and brain activity were similar to those observed for child p,p’-DDT and -DDE concentrations. ConclusionsChildhood p,p’-DDT and -DDE exposure may impact cortical brain activation, which could be an underlying mechanism for its previously reported associations with poorer cognitive function.

Genesis of Antibiotic Resistance (AR) LXXXV: Turbulence Modeling(TM) of Hemodynamics in Simplified Severe Sepsis Protocol‐2 (SSSP‐2)‐NCT01663701: Clinical Connotation of Monitoring ISP [BP(PP), MAP, CBF, ICP, CPPopt, Comatose GCS 3, and CCP] for Attenuation of IHM

Based on the theoretical inferences derived from industrial CFD modules: Flow‐3DÒ Hydro FD simulation Model 04; 05_sediment_transport FLOW‐3D HydroÒ, (Courtesy: Flow‐3D HydroÒ), The Beauty of Vortex Streets, May 5, 2021; Curve Fitting of Solution Data in COMSOL Multiphysics®, July 27, 2021 © 2021 BY COMSOL INC., https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/90734/two‐views‐of‐von‐karman‐vortices (NASA). and hemodynamic data (SSSP‐2), here we present a plausible physiological basis for the benefit of monitoring ISP for attenuation 100% ihm in the usual care cohort of SSSP‐2 (PMID: 28973227). Hypothesis & Rationale:Monitoring the ISP‐induced transient APG, eases the point of care clinical intervention for the recovery from GCS3 to homeostasis. Geometry: RBC, WBC, platelets, p47; Whole blood viscosity ~ 3 centipoise (cP) or ~0.003 Pascal second (Pa. s) p53; Blood velocity in the Human Blood Vessels: table 2.1 p63, Blood Vol. Distribution: Table 2.2, p64; Stress–Strain Curve, Fig 2.15 p 78; ISBN:9780128024089. Gov Eq: Segmental Cerebral Perfusion Pressure Equation for The Intracranial Compartment: SPP = Pd − ICP = FFR · CPP − Ge · (1 − FFR) · (ICP − Pe) (PMCID: PMC8032738; PMID: 33833266). Derivation & Prospects:ISP has been shown to induce cerebral hypoperfusion in turn vasogenic edema altering contralateral/ipsilateral CBF due to increased blood flow through the anterior communicating artery (Acom). Case Report (PMCID: PMC7332508; PMID: 32637214): A 72‐year‐old male presented with the right‐sided hemiparesis and underwent MRI. MR imaging show an acute infarction of the left frontal lobe [Figure 1] and bilateral internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis (NASCET: Rt: 90%, peak systolic velocity 425 cm/s and Lt: NASCET 70%, peak systolic velocity 212 cm/s). After 2 months, SPECT showed an decrease in CBF in the right cerebral hemisphere [Figure 2a]. INVOS‐4100 cerebral oximeter based determination of the effect of carotid clamping and shunting on oxygen saturation (rSO2) showed rSO2 readings were lower than ipsilateral rSO2 readings. SPECT showed a decrease in CBF around the infarction [Figure 2b]. SPECT indicated a contralateral increase in CBF [Figure 2b]. Tx, with free‐radical scavenger(Rx), showed an improvement in CBF, and laterality disappeared 2 weeks after CEA [Figure 2c and d]. The CBF of both sides equaled 2 weeks later [Figure 3]. Subsequent MR imaging with fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images showed a local high‐intensity lesion around a previous infarction in comparison with before CEA [Figure 4a and b]. FLAIR MR imaging 2 weeks after initial surgery confirmed the complete disappearance of the high‐intensity lesion [Figure 4c]. Taken together, the focal vasogenic edema induced neurologic impairment is shown to be alleviated by treating edema and cerebral ischemia while monitoring hemodynamic parameters. This model could be applied for the attenuation of fluid bolus augmented VKVS, collapsing of cerebral vessels leading to 100% ihm, in the usual care group in SSSP‐2 (PMID: 28973227).

Granular cell tumor in the central nervous system of a ferret (Mustela putorius furo) - a case report

A granular cell tumor (GCT) in the central nervous system (CNS) of a ferret is a rare finding. In this case a cerebral GCT is described in a 5-year-old castrated female ferret. The animal developed lameness in right hind leg which progreseed to total ataxia. The animal died and a necropsy revealed the mass in the medial to caudal part of the left frontal lobe of the brain. Based on histological and imunohistochemical findings, tumor was diagnosed as granular cell tumor. Immunohistochemically, granular cells were diffusely positive for vimentin and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and weakly focal reactivity for S-100 protein was seen. Neoplastic cells did not express cytokeratins and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Although immunohistochemistry was performed, histogenesis of this tumor remains unsolved and controversial.

Dominance of Attention Focus and Its Electroencephalogram Activity in Standing Postural Control in Healthy Young Adults.

Attention focus changes performance, and external focus (EF) improves performance compared to internal focus (IF). However, recently, the dominance of attention focus, rather than the effectiveness of unilateral EF, has been examined. Although the positive effects of EF on standing postural control have been reported, the dominance of attention focus has not yet been examined. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the dominance of attention focus and its neural mechanism in standing postural control using electroencephalography (EEG). A standing postural control task under IF and EF conditions was performed on healthy young men. Gravity center sway and cortical activity simultaneously using a stabilometer and an EEG were measured. Participants were classified into IF-dominant and EF-dominant groups according to their index of postural stability. The EEG was analyzed, and cortical activity in the theta-wave band was compared between the IF-dominant and EF-dominant groups. Significant neural activity was observed in the left parietal lobe of the IF-dominant group in the IF condition, and in the left frontal lobe of the EF-dominant group in the EF condition (p < 0.05). Differences in EEG activity between IF-dominant and EF-dominant groups, in standing postural control, were detected. This contributes to the development of training methods that consider attentional focus dominance in postural control.

Breath-Hold Diving-Related Decompression Sickness with Brain Involvement: From Neuroimaging to Pathophysiology

Central nervous system involvement related to decompression sickness (DCS) is a very rare complication of breath-hold diving. So far, it has been postulated that repeated dives with short surface intervals represent a key factor in the development of breath-holding-related DCS. We report the case of a breath-hold diver who, after repeated immersion, developed DCS with brain involvement. After treatment in a hyperbaric chamber, there was a clinical improvement in the symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed hyperintense lesions in long-time repetition sequences (FLAIR, T2WI) in the left frontal and right temporal lobes. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequences and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map were characteristic of vasogenic edema, allowing us to exclude the ischemic nature of the process. These findings, together with the acute clinical presentation, the resolution of lesions in evolutionary radiological controls and the possible involvement of blood–brain barrier/endothelial dysfunction in DCS, could suggest a new form of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES)-like presentation of DCS. This would represent a novel mechanism to explain the pathophysiology of this entity. We conducted a literature review, analyzing the pathophysiological and neuroimaging characteristics of DCS in breath-hold diving based on a case of this rare disease.

Higher Grade Glioma Increases the Risk of Postoperative Delirium: Deficient Brain Compensation Might Be a Potential Mechanism of Postoperative Delirium.

ObjectiveThe brain compensation mechanism in postoperative delirium (POD) has not been reported. We uncovered the mechanism by exploring the association between POD and glioma grades, and the relationship between preoperative brain structural and functional compensation with POD in patients with frontal glioma.MethodsA total of 335 adult patients with glioma were included. The multivariable analysis examined the association between tumor grade and POD. Then, 20 patients with left frontal lobe glioma who had presurgical structural and functional MRI data and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in this cohort were analyzed. We measured the gray matter volume (GMV) and functional connectivity (FC) in patients with (n = 8) and without (n = 12) POD and healthy controls (HCs, n = 29) to detect the correlation between the structural and functional alteration and POD.ResultsThe incidence of POD was 37.3%. Multivariable regression revealed that high-grade glioma had approximately six times the odds of POD. Neuroimaging data showed that compared with HC, the patients with left frontal lobe glioma showed significantly increased GMV of the right dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in the non-POD group and decreased GMV of right DLPFC in the POD group, and the POD group exhibited significantly decreased FC of right DLPFC, and the non-POD group showed the increasing tendency. Partial correlation analysis showed that GMV in contralesional DLPFC were positively correlated with preoperative neurocognition, and the GMV and FC in contralesional DLPFC were negatively correlated with POD.ConclusionsOur findings suggested that insufficient compensation for injured brain regions involving cognition might be more vulnerable to suffering from POD.

A case of ischemic-hypoxic encephalopathy due to oral succinylcholine ingestion.

A case of ischemic-hypoxic encephalopathy due to oral succinylcholine ingestion.

Functional reorganization of contralesional networks varies according to isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 mutation status in patients with left frontal lobe glioma.

The study aimed to assess how isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) mutation status in patients with glioma may alter functional connectivity (FC) in the default mode network (DMN) and fronto-parietal network (FPN). Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, a seed-based FC analysis was employed to investigate connectivity within and between networks in seventeen patients with IDH1-mutant glioma (IDH1-M), eleven patients with IDH1-wildtype glioma (IDH1-WT), and nineteen healthy controls (HC). For FC within the DMN, compared to HC, both IDH1-M and IDH1-WT exhibited significantly increased FC between the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the right retrosplenial cortex, right precuneus/cuneus, and right middle cingulate cortex and between the right lateral parietal cortex (LP_R) and the right middle temporal gyrus. For FC within the FPN, compared with HC, IDH1-M showed significantly greater FC between the right posterior parietal cortex (PPC_R) and the right inferior, right medial, and right middle frontal gyrus, and IDH1-WT showed significantly increased FC between the PPC_R and the right middle frontal gyrus. For FC between the DMN and FPN, relative to IDH1-WT and HC, IDH1-M exhibited significantly increased FC between the LP_R and the right superior frontal gyrus and between the PPC_R and the right precuneus/cuneus. In contrast, compared to IDH1-M and HC, IDH1-WT showed significantly reduced FC between the PPC_R and the right angular gyrus. The preliminary findings revealed that there should be differences in the patterns of network reorganization between IDH1-M and IDH1-WT with different growth kinetics.

Electroencephalographic findings after convulsive seizures due to cerebral arterial air embolism secondary to lung cancer: a case report

BackgroundCerebral arterial air embolism is often associated with an invasive iatrogenic etiology and a high rate of convulsive seizures. There are only a few descriptions of electroencephalogram findings in convulsive seizures due to cerebral arterial air embolism of noniatrogenic etiology. Herein, we describe the case of a patient with lung cancer and convulsive seizures with abnormalities detected on electroencephalogram caused by cerebral arterial air embolism of noniatrogenic etiology.Case presentationA 55-year-old Japanese man underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy for cancer in the hilum of the left lung that was diagnosed after hemoptysis. One year after the diagnosis, he developed fever and chest pain that required hospitalization. At admission, he was in shock, and chest computed tomography revealed invasion of the left atrium and left main bronchus by the hilar cancer. Chest and abdominal computed tomography revealed small low-density areas within the tumor and around the intestinal membrane, which were interpreted as the presence of air due to invasion of the lung cancer. He was diagnosed with septic shock due to necrotic infection secondary to cancer invasion into the left atrium. The following day, he complained of difficulty in speaking and weakness in the left side of his body. A head computed tomography scan revealed multiple small low-density areas in the right cortex and bilateral subcortex, which were interpreted as air emboli. On day 3, he experienced generalized tonic–clonic seizures for approximately 1 minute, followed by myoclonus-like convulsions in the left lower limb and a right-sided gaze. The electroencephalogram findings after the convulsive seizures revealed partial epilepsy-like waves with intermittent spikes in the bilateral cerebral hemispheres and a diffuse slow wave in the left frontal lobe. He recovered from sepsis without recurrence of convulsive seizures; however, he died of hemoptysis on day 50 after discharge.ConclusionsElectroencephalogram findings of focal spike activities and diffuse slow waves were detected in early seizures due to cerebral arterial air embolism of noniatrogenic etiology associated with lung cancer. Additional case descriptions are warranted to establish patterns in electroencephalogram findings specific to cerebral arterial air embolism.

Coexistence of anterior cranial fossa dural arteriovenous fistula and arteriovenous malformation with the same drainage system: illustrative case

BACKGROUNDThe authors report a rare case of coexistence of dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) and arteriovenous malformation (AVM), with a common trunk drainer from both DAVF and AVM in the left anterior cranial fossa (ACF) with simple DAVF in the right ACF.OBSERVATIONSA 63-year-old female presented with seizure. Cerebral angiography showed bilateral DAVFs in the ACF and AVM in the left frontal lobe. A dilated frontal vein acted as a simple drainer of the right DAVF. In contrast, a dilated vein with large varix was the common drainer of both the left DAVF and the AVM. During surgery, indocyanine green videoangiography was performed with direct observation. In the left ACF, the drainer occlusion of the DAVF resulted in partial shrinkage of the varix and decreased distal blood flow. Additional main feeder occlusion of the AVM could decrease the blood flow further, but not completely because of the residual pial supplies for the AVM. Finally, the nidus of the AVM with varix was removed by en bloc resection.LESSONSNeurosurgeons should be aware of the coexistence of DAVF and AVM with a common trunk drainer. Only simple occlusion of the drainer from DAVF is not sufficient, so removal of the AVM is essential.

Abnormal fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations in MOG-lgG optic neuritis patients: a resting-state functional MRI study.

Optic neuritis (ON) is a general term for inflammation of any part of the optic nerve resulting from demyelination or infection. The number of patients with MOG-lgG antibody-related optic neuritis is increasing recently. Our study uses the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) method to compare the activity of specific brain regions in MOG-lgG ON patients and healthy controls (HCs). We selected a total of 21 MOG-lgG ON patients and 21 HCs were included in the study. All subjects underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). The independent-samples t-test was used to compare demographic data and average fALFF values between groups. The specificity and sensitivity of fALFF values for distinguishing between MOG-lgG ON patients and HCs were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between fALFF values and clinical characteristics in MOG-lgG ON patients. Our results showed that fALFF values of the right cerebellum and left middle cingulum were lower whereas those of bilateral inferior temporal lobes, right gyrus rectus, and the left superior and right middle frontal lobes of MOG-lgG ON patients were higher than those of HCs (P < 0.05). The average fALFF value of the left superior frontal lobe in MOG-lgG ON patients was positively correlated with Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score (HADS) (r = 0.6004; P < 0.05) and duration of MOG-lgG ON (r = 6487; P < 0.05). Thus, patients with MOG-lgG ON have abnormal activity in the brain regions related to vision. Changes in fALFF value can reflect functional sequelae of MOG-lgG ON, including abnormal anxiety or depressive emotional changes.

Surgical management of brain metastasis as a part of systematic metastases from adenoid cystic carcinoma of the external auditory canal: illustrative case.

BACKGROUNDAdenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the external auditory canal (EAC) is a rare tumor that accounts for approximately 5% of all EAC tumors. ACC is generally known as a slow-growing tumor, but patients often experience recurrence or distant metastasis in the long clinical course. While the major pattern of recurrence is pulmonary metastasis, brain metastasis of ACC of the EAC is rare.OBSERVATIONSThe authors describe the case of a 72-year-old male who was diagnosed with ACC of the EAC. Approximately 7 years later, brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed an intra-axial homogenously enhancing mass lesion that had no direct connection with the skull base in the left frontal lobe. The patient underwent tumor resection and histopathological examination revealed a mixture of cribriform and tubular patterns. The image and pathological characteristics of the tumor were similar to those of primary ACC or ACC from other sites of origin.LESSONSWhile patients with ACC of the EAC often experience recurrence or distant metastasis in the long clinical course, they survive for a relatively long period of time, even though an optimal treatment has not been established. The authors therefore recommend surgical resection for brain metastasis of ACC of the EAC to improve neurological symptoms.

Identification of moyamoya disease based on cerebral oxygen saturation signals using machine learning methods.

Moyamoya is a cerebrovascular disease with a high mortality rate. Early detection and mechanistic studies are necessary. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to study the signals of the cerebral tissue oxygen saturation index (TOI) and the changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin concentrations (HbO and Hb) in 64 patients with moyamoya disease and 64 healthy volunteers. The wavelet transforms (WT) of TOI, HbO and Hb signals, as well as the wavelet phase coherence (WPCO) of these signals from the left and right frontal lobes of the same subject, were calculated. Features were extracted from the spontaneous oscillations of TOI, HbO and Hb in five physiological activity-related frequency segments. Machine learning models based on support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) have been built to classify the two groups. For 20-min signals, the 10-fold cross-validation accuracies of SVM, RF and XGBoost were 87%, 85% and 85%, respectively. For 5-min signals, the accuracies of the three methods were 88%, 88% and 84%, respectively. The method proposed in this article has potential for detecting and screening moyamoya with high proficiency. Evaluating the cerebral oxygenation with NIRS shows great potential in screening moyamoya diseases.

Ischemic Stroke with Multiple Cerebral Artery Stenosis in a Patient with an Anaplastic Astrocytoma during Bevacizumab Treatment: A Case Report

It has been reported that bevacizumab, an agent administered as an adjuvant therapy for high-grade gliomas, causes thromboembolic complications. We report a cerebral infarction with newly developed cerebral artery stenosis occurring during treatment with bevacizumab for an anaplastic astrocytoma. A 48-year-old female underwent excision surgery for an anaplastic astrocytoma on the right temporal lobe and received radiation therapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide. Twenty months after the maintenance therapy, treatment with bevacizumab was introduced for tumor recurrence. After the 14th course of bevacizumab at 6 months, 27 months after radiation therapy, the patient began experiencing mild right hemiparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed scattered cerebral infarcts on the left frontal lobe and diffuse cerebral artery stenosis of the bilateral internal carotid artery system both inside and outside the radiation-treated area. Antiplatelet medication was commenced, and there was no recurrence of ischemic stroke. The morphological transition of the cerebral arteries should be carefully monitored via magnetic resonance angiography during post-radiation treatment with bevacizumab.

Frontal language areas do not emerge in the absence of temporal language areas: A case study of an individual born without a left temporal lobe

Language processing relies on a left-lateralized fronto-temporal brain network. How this network emerges ontogenetically remains debated. We asked whether frontal language areas emerge in the absence of temporal language areas through a ‘deep-data’ investigation of an individual (EG) born without her left temporal lobe. Using fMRI methods that have been validated to elicit reliable individual-level responses, we find that—as expected for early left-hemisphere damage—EG has a fully functional language network in her right hemisphere (comparable to the LH network in n = 145 controls) and intact linguistic abilities. However, we detect no response to language in EG's left frontal lobe (replicated across two sessions, 3 years apart). Another network—the multiple demand network—is robustly present in frontal lobes bilaterally, suggesting that EG's left frontal cortex can support non-linguistic cognition. The existence of temporal language areas therefore appears to be a prerequisite for the emergence of the frontal language areas.

Person-specific connectivity mapping uncovers differences of bilingual language experience on brain bases of attention in children

Bilingualism influences children’s cognition, yet bilinguals vary greatly in their dual-language experiences. To uncover sources of variation in bilingual and monolingual brain function, the present study used standard analysis and innovative person-specific connectivity models combined with a data-driven grouping algorithm. Children (ages 7–9; N = 52) completed a visuo-spatial attention task while undergoing functional near-infrared spectroscopy neuroimaging. Both bilingual and monolingual groups performed similarly, and engaged bilateral frontal and parietal regions. However, bilinguals showed greater brain activity than monolinguals in left frontal and parietal regions. Connectivity models revealed two empirically-derived subgroups. One subgroup was composed of monolinguals and bilinguals who were more English dominant, and showed left frontal-parietal connections. The other was composed of bilinguals who were balanced in their dual-language abilities and showed left frontal lobe connections. The findings inform how individual variation in early language experiences influences children’s emerging cortical networks for executive function, and reveal efficacy of data-driven approaches.

Comparative analysis of background EEG activity in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy during valproic acid treatment: a standardized, low-resolution, brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) study

BackgroundBy definition, the background EEG is normal in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) patients and not accompanied by other developmental and cognitive problems. However, some recent studies using quantitative EEG (qEEG) reported abnormal changes in the background activity. QEEG investigation in patients undergoing anticonvulsant treatment might be a useful approach to explore the electrophysiology and anticonvulsant effects in JME.MethodsWe investigated background EEG activity changes in patients undergoing valproic acid (VPA) treatment using qEEG analysis in a distributed source model. In 17 children with JME, non-parametric statistical analysis using standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography was performed to compare the current density distribution of four frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, and beta) between untreated and treated conditions.ResultsVPA reduced background EEG activity in the low-frequency (delta-theta) bands across the frontal, parieto-occipital, and limbic lobes (threshold log-F-ratio = ±1.414, p < 0.05; threshold log-F-ratio= ±1.465, p < 0.01). In the delta band, comparative analysis revealed significant current density differences in the occipital, parietal, and limbic lobes. In the theta band, the analysis revealed significant differences in the frontal, occipital, and limbic lobes. The maximal difference was found in the delta band in the cuneus of the left occipital lobe (log-F-ratio = −1.840) and the theta band in the medial frontal gyrus of the left frontal lobe (log-F-ratio = −1.610).ConclusionsThis study demonstrated the anticonvulsant effects on the neural networks involved in JME. In addition, these findings suggested the focal features and the possibility of functional deficits in patients with JME.

Analysis of power spectrum and phase lag index changes following deep brain stimulation of the anterior nucleus of the thalamus in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy: A retrospective study

ObjectivesThe mechanisms underlying the anterior nucleus of the thalamus (ANT) deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) have not been fully explored. The present study aimed to measure the changes in whole-brain activity generated by ANT DBS using interictal electroencephalography (EEG). Materials and methodsInterictal EEG signals were retrospectively collected in 20 DRE patients who underwent ANT DBS surgery. Patients were classified as responders or non-responders depending on their response to ANT DBS treatment. The power spectrum (PS) and Phase Lag Index (PLI) were determined and data analyzed using a paired sample t-test to evaluate activity differences between pre-and-post-treatment on different frequency categories. Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney test (non-parametric test) and Fisher exact test were used to compare groups in terms of clinical variables and EEG metrics. P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant, and FDR-corrected values were used for multiple testing. ResultsPS analysis revealed that whole-brain spectral power had a significant decrease in the beta (p = 0.005) and gamma (p = 0.037) bands following ANT DBS treatment in responders. The analysis of scalp topographic images of all patients showed that ANT DBS decreases PS in the beta band at the F3, F7 and Cz electrode sites. The findings indicated a decrease in PS in the gamma band at the Fp2, F3, Cz, T3, T5 and Oz electrode sites. After ANT DBS treatment, PLI analysis showed a significant decrease in PLI between Fp1 and T3 in the gamma band in responders. ConclusionThe findings showed that ANT DBS induces a decrease in power in the left frontal lobe, left temporal lobe and midline areas in the beta and gamma bands. Lower whole-brain power in the beta and gamma bands can be used as biomarkers for a favorable therapeutic response to ANT DBS, and decreased synchronization between the left frontal pole and temporal lobe in the gamma band can also be used as a biomarker for effective clinical stimulation to guide postoperative programming.