bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Essential Startle Disease May Not be a Uniform Entity
Authors: Cengiz Bulent , Odabasi Zeki , Ozdag Fatih , Eroglu Erdal , Gokcil Zeki , Vural Okay
Published: September 2014

A 25-year-old man with essential startle disease has been reported. He had a history of sudden jerks and falls in response to unexpected stimuli. Abnormal falling developed when he learned to walk. No similar cases are known in his family. Physical examination revealed hyperreflexia. Pathologic startle reflex was elicited by light touching on the patient's nose, clapping or making other noises. EEG response to startle stimuli consisted of spikes recorded from both centroparietooccipital regions immediately preceding diffuse muscle and movement artifacts. The motor responses to auditory stimuli, which are startle reflex on the orbicularis oculi, sternocleidomastoid, biceps and quadriceps femoris muscles, habituated within 2–4 trials. Electrical stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist elicited a consistent C reflex (cortical long loop reflex) but not any giant cortical somatosensory evoked potentials.

Our patient showed early disease onset and habituation of motor response, which are not seen in other essential hyperekplexia cases, and clinically differs from the patients with hereditary hyperekplexia in which neonatal rigidity, epilepsy, apneic attacks, low intelligence, congenital dislocated hips and inguinal hernia can be seen in differing frequency.
Topographical Analysis of the Onset VEP in the Detection of Paracentral Visual Field Defects
Authors: Sartucci Ferdinando , Tagliati Michele , Mylin Leland H. , Bodis-Wollner Ivan
Published: September 2014

Transient visual evoked potentials (VEP) were recorded simultaneously from 16 electrodes evenly placed over posterior scalp locations covering the occipital, posterior parietal and temporal areas. Interhemispheric amplitude difference of the N70 deflection was established across 6 homologous lateral electrode pairs in 15 normal controls and 32 patients with chiasmatic or retrochiasmatic cerebral lesions. Twenty-three of these had known homonymous or bitemporal field defects while 9 had normal fields on routine perimetry. Significant interhemispheric asymmetry of any single electrode pair occurred in 55% of the 32 patients with known pathology, while the cumulative yield of all electrode pairs was over 80 percent. The diagnostic yield of individual electrode pairs was significantly different: the electrode pair placed over the temporo-parietal junction detected the highest number of abnormalities. The cumulative abnormality taken over all lateral electrode pairs could be described with a curve well fitted with a probability summation function. It is inferred that the contribution of several independent generator sources is reflected in the N70 of the pattern onset VEP. The results suggest that multichannel recording of the interhemispheric amplitude distribution of the N70 of the onset VEP is useful for the evaluation of paracentral visual field defects.
Sources of Abnormal EEG Activity in Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage
Authors: Fernández-Bouzas Antonio , Harmony Thalía , Fernández Thalía , Aubert Eduardo , Ricardo-Garcell Josefina , Valdés Pedro , Bosch Jorge , Casián Gustavo , Sánchez-Conde Raul
Published: September 2014

This report describes the results obtained with EEG source analysis in the frequency domain (FD-VARETA), in 14 patients with brain hemorrhages; 6 hemorrhages were located in the putaminal region, 1 was mesencephalic and 7 were lobar cerebral hemorrhages. Our goal was to evaluate FD-VARETA accuracy for the localization of fast growth expansive brain lesions. FD-VARETA produces brain electromagnetic tomography images of EEG sources in every frequency. The location of the most abnormal or the maximum Z value across all frequencies was compared with the location of spontaneous hemorrhages in computed tomographies (CT). In all patients the main source was within delta or theta bands. The spatial extent of the sources, in the brain atlas, at these frequency values was almost the same as the volume of hematoma in CT. Putaminal lesions produced larger regions of cortical deafferentation than lobar hematomas, with higher abnormal Z values. FD-VARETA was more accurate in locating the lesions than traditional maps of absolute and relative power in delta, theta, alpha and beta bands.

Conclusion: FD-VARETA is a valuable procedure for the functional evaluation of brain hemorrhages.
Early Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) Shows a Small Symmetrical Negativity in a Somatosensory Paradigm
Authors: Sato Yasuharu , Yabe Hirooki , Hiruma Tomiharu , Sutoh Takeyuki , Shinozaki Naoko , Nashida Tadayoshi , Matsuoka Takashi , Kaneko Sunao
Published: September 2014

The influence of sensory modulation on the early stage of information processing was investigated with a somatosensory contingent negative variation (CNV) paradigm. Whether or not even a somatosensory input as well as auditory or visual stimulus to one hemisphere elicits the symmetrical “early CNV” was also examined. Eleven normal individuals (3 males, 8 females) performed a conventional CNV paradigm with a click sound as the warning stimulus (WS) and a red light flash as the imperative stimulus (IS). Nine individuals (5 males, 4 females) did the somatosensory CNV paradigm with paired electrical stimuli as WS and IS. The subjects were instructed to press a button in response to IS as fast as possible. The early CNV amplitude was smaller and P300 latency was longer in somatosensory paradigm than conventional paradigm. In addition, the latency of P100 in a somatosensory paradigm was longer than that of N100 in a conventional paradigm. These findings suggest that the initiation of early detection, reflected by P100, the initiation of cognition, reflected by P300, and orienting response, reflected by early CNV, are delayed in a somatosensory CNV paradigm. Furthermore, all event-related potentials (ERPs) evoked by somatosensory stimuli showed a bilateral symmetry.
Event-Related Potentials in a No-Go Task Involving Response-Tendency Conflict
Authors: Wang Yuping , Tian Shujuan , Wang Huijun , Cui Lili , Zhang Yuanyuan
Published: September 2014

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while 13 subjects completed a color discrimination task. In task one, subjects were asked to press a button when the presented stimulus was a red or a green spot (Go stimulus), and inhibited any motor response when the stimulus was a yellow or a white spot (No-go stimulus). In task two, subjects were instructed to count the number of the Go stimuli, not to count the No-go stimuli. In order to investigate the influence of probability on ERP components, two sessions were designed in each task. In session one, the probability of the four kinds of stimuli was equal. In session two, the probability of red, green, yellow, and white were 10%, 10%, 10%, and 70% respectively. An enhanced negative potential in the frontal area was recorded in the 200–400 ms range both following No-go stimuli and following No-count stimuli, which was not influenced by the stimulus probability. The result cast doubt on the interpretation of the frontal negative potential enhancement as reflecting response-inhibition processes. The potential might be related to the information processing of response-tendency conflict rather than the suppression of motor execution.
Differences in EEG Harmonic Driving Responses to Photic Stimulation between Normal Aging and Alzheimer's Disease
Authors: Kikuchi Mitsuru , Wada Yuji , Koshino Yoshifumi
Published: September 2014

In order to investigate whether Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the end result of aging of the brain or the result of some other mechanism, we analyzed EEGs showing the absolute power of harmonic responses to photic stimulation (PS) in younger subjects, non-demented elderly subjects and AD patients. At rest, the AD patients generally showed less absolute power than the younger and elderly subjects, with significant differences found at 10Hz and 20Hz. Analysis of EEGs recorded during PS indicated that the elderly subjects generally demonstrated more absolute power than the younger subjects and AD patients. These findings suggest a failure of stimulation-related brain activation in AD patients, and provide further evidence that normal aging and AD employ different mechanisms for functional organization during PS.
P3a and P3b Auditory ERPs in HIV Patients Receiving Anti-Viral Medication
Authors: Polich John , Basho Surina
Published: September 2014

The effects of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on central nervous system function were studied with the P3a and P3b event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in patients with HIV compared to unaffected matched controls (n=14/group). All patients were on anti-viral medication for at least 2 months before testing. Auditory stimuli were employed in an easy 2-stimulus oddball discrimination task to obtain a typical P3b (P300) subcomponent. A 3-stimulus distractor paradigm also was employed in which the target/standard discrimination was very difficult, and an infrequent high-pitched tone non-target was presented to elicit the P3a subcomponent. Subjects responded only to the target stimulus in each task. P3a amplitude was significantly smaller for HIV compared to control subjects. No reliable P3b effects were obtained. The findings suggest that P3a rather than P3b may be a more sensitive measure of cognitive impairment in HIV patients on anti-viral medication.
Reduced Sensitivity of the N400 and Late Positive Component to Semantic Congruity and Word Repetition in Left Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
Authors: Olichney John M. , Riggins Brock R. , Hillert Dieter G. , Nowacki Ralph , Tecoma Evelyn , Kutas Marta , Iragui Vicente J.
Published: September 2014

We studied 14 patients with well-characterized refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), 7 with right temporal lobe epilepsy (RTE) and 7 with left temporal lobe epilepsy (LTE), on a word repetition ERP experiment. Much prior literature supports the view that patients with left TLE are more likely to develop verbal memory deficits, often attributable to left hippocampal sclerosis. Our main objectives were to test if abnormalities of the N400 or Late Positive Component (LPC, P600) were associated with a left temporal seizure focus, or left temporal lobe dysfunction. A minimum of 19 channels of EEG/EOG data were collected while subjects performed a semantic categorization task. Auditory category statements were followed by a visual target word, which were 50% “congruous” (category exemplars) and 50% “incongruous” (non-category exemplars) with the preceding semantic context. These auditory-visual pairings were repeated pseudo-randomly at time intervals ranging from ∼10–140 seconds later. The ERP data were submitted to repeated-measures ANOVAs, which showed the RTE group had generally normal effects of word repetition on the LPC and the N400. Also, the N400 component was larger to incongruous than congruous new words, as is normally the case. In contrast, the LTE group did not have statistically significant effects of either word repetition or congruity on their ERPs (N400 or LPC), suggesting that this ERP semantic categorization paradigm is sensitive to left temporal lobe dysfunction. Further studies are ongoing to determine if these ERP abnormalities predict hippocampal sclerosis on histopathology, or outcome after anterior temporal lobectomy.
Cognitive ERPs in Depressive and Anxiety Disorders during Tonal and Phonetic Oddball Tasks
Authors: Bruder Gerard E. , Kayser Jürgen , Tenke Craig E. , Leite Paul , Schneier Franklin R. , Stewart Jonathan W. , Quitkin Frederic M.
Published: September 2014

This report compares event-related brain potentials (ERPs) of patients having a depressive disorder alone (n=58), an anxiety disorder alone (n=22), comorbidity of these disorders (n=18), and healthy controls (n=49). ERPs were recorded from 30 electrode sites during auditory oddball tasks using consonant-vowel syllables (phonetic) or complex tones (tonal). Overlapping ERP components were identified and measured using covariance-based principal components analysis. An early P3 subcomponent (P315) was larger in patients having an anxiety disorder alone when compared to depressed patients with or without an anxiety disorder and healthy controls, whereas a late P3 subcomponent (P400) was larger in patients having comorbidity of anxiety and depressive disorders than in the other groups. Also, the N2-P3 complex showed task-dependent hemispheric asymmetries, including larger N2-P3 amplitude over left than right temporoparietal sites during the phonetic oddball task. This hemispheric asymmetry was greatest in patients having a depressive disorder alone and smallest in patients having an anxiety disorder alone. The opposite nature of the alterations of hemispheric asymmetry and early P3 amplitude in depressive and anxiety disorders underscores the importance of taking comorbidity with anxiety into account in studies of cognitive ERPs in depressive disorders.
The Long and the Short of It: Influence of Interstimulus Interval on Auditory P300 Abnormalities in Schizophrenia
Authors: Mathalon Daniel H. , Ford Judith M.
Published: September 2014

Event-related brain potentials were recorded from 10 patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia (9 men) and 10 healthy control subjects (9 men) during the performance of two auditory oddball tasks, one using a 1.5 second interstimulus interval (ISI), the other using an 8 second ISI. P300 amplitude to target tones (.20 probability) and standard tones (.80 probability) were measured from midline electrodes Fz, Cz, and Pz. Results showed different effects of ISI in the two groups. Controls showed a slight decrease in P300 amplitude to targets but a marked increase in P300 to standards with the increase in ISI. In contrast, schizophrenic patients showed no change in the P300 to targets and a relatively small increase in P300 to standards with the ISI increase. Moreover, relative to the controls, P300 amplitude to targets was reduced in the schizophrenic patients at the short but not the long ISI. Implications for the cognitive significance of the P300 and its reduction in schizophrenia are discussed.
Sources of EEG Activity in Learning Disabled Children
Authors: Fernández Thalía , Harmony Thalía , Fernández-Bouzas Antonio , Silva Juan , Herrera Wendy , Santiago-Rodríguez Efraín , Sánchez Liliana
Published: September 2014

The sources of different EEG frequencies were studied in 25 normal children and 46 learning disabled (not otherwise specified) children between 7 and 11 years old. The EEG sources were computed using Frequency-domain Variable Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography which produces a three dimensional picture of the currents at each EEG frequency. Significant differences between groups were observed. LD children showed more theta activity (3.5 to 7.02 Hz) in the frontal lobes and control children more alpha (9.75 to 12.87 Hz) in occipital areas. These results may support the maturational lag hypothesis, as the neurobiological cause of learning deficiencies not otherwise specified.
SPECT in a Patient with Postictal PLEDs: Is Hyperperfusion Evidence of Electrical Seizure?
Authors: Bozkurt Murat Fani , Saygi Serap , Erbas Belkis
Published: September 2014

The pathophysiological relation between periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges (PLEDs) and epileptic seizures is not known and the exact causative mechanism of PLEDs still remains unclear. In this report, the authors present a case in which the EEG displayed PLEDs after a complex partial seizure. This patient, with a long history of complex partial seizures, had previously undergone right standard anterior temporal lobectomy with hippocampectomy, with a diagnosis of mesial temporal sclerosis. She had one complex partial seizure 72 days after operation and was admitted to hospital. Her brain MRI revealed changes due to temporal lobectomy and small residual posterior hippocampic anomalies. PLEDs over the right temporal lobe were seen in postictal EEGs and persisted for 4 days despite the patient's normal mental status and normal neurologic examination. Brain perfusion scintigraphy with Tc-99m-HMPAO during PLEDs was performed on the second day after the seizure, and right temporal hyperperfusion was detected. EEGs and scintigraphic imaging were repeated after cessation of PLEDs. The repeated brain scan displayed right temporal hypoperfusion. PLEDs during the postictal period may actually be an ictal pattern, and if hyperperfusion in the brain SPECT studies during PLEDs is seen, further aggressive antiepileptic drug therapy may be necessary in some cases.
Carbamazepine-Induced Seizures: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: Gansaeuer M. , Alsaadi T. M.
Published: September 2014

Carbamazepine has been reported to exacerbate seizures in children with primary generalized epilepsy and epilepsy with mixed seizure types. Seizure exacerbation has been rarely observed in adults, mainly in the mentally retarded or in those with primary generalized epilepsy. We present an adult patient who had frequent absence seizures and simple partial seizures for 20 years. She was treated with carbamazepine for over 16 years. The patient's EEG showed generalized spike and wave complexes. Her seizures remitted and the EEG normalized after the discontinuation of carbamazepine therapy.
Electroencephalographic Changes during Intravenous Olfactory Stimulation in Humans
Authors: Harada Hirofumi , Rikimaru Fumihide , Mori Takashi , Tanaka Masahiro , Shiraishi Kimio , Kato Toshihiko
Published: September 2014

The intravenous olfaction test with thiamin propyl disulfide (TPD) is a simple procedure widely used in Japan. An olfactory stimulus is provided by intravenous injection of TPD (2 ml) over the course of 20 sec. The subject smells n-propyl mercaptan (a decomposition product of TPD discharged from the blood into alveoli) in expired air after treatment.

In this preliminary study we recorded electroencephalograms (EEGs) in normal subjects during three stages: 1) eyes-closed rest (prestimulus), 2) olfactory sensation after TPD injection, and 3) disappearance of sensation. In each of these stages, we calculated and compared EEG powers according to the band components of each electrode position. This study was designed a) to evaluate by frequency analysis EEG changes during olfactory sensation after TPD injection, and b) to identify the most significant changes in EEG power according to frequency band and electrode location.

During the intravenous olfactory stimulation, alpha 2 and beta 2 waves were activated over the frontal and temporal regions. After disappearance of olfactory sensation, these waves decreased in the same regions. EEG powers returned to prestimulus levels.
Focal Seizures and EEG: Prognostic Considerations
Authors: Hughes John R. , Fino John J.
Published: September 2014

The goal of this study was to determine whether the EEG could predict if patients with focal seizures would eventually be uncontrolled (U), more than two seizures per month, or be controlled (C), fewer than two seizures per year. Using these latter criteria, U and C patients were randomly selected from our files, 150 in each of these two groups; 804 EEGs were found in the U and 674 in the C group. Excluded were patients with generalized epilepsy and also the benign epilepsies of childhood. Age was an important factor since patients 5–18 yrs old were more often under good control (C group), and those 21–48 yrs of age were more often under poor control (U group). With rare exceptions, focal spikes and focal slow waves in every area were much more often seen in U patients than C patients. No spikes or rare spikes appeared especially in the controlled patients, and many or very many spikes in the uncontrolled patients, mainly on the first or second EEG. No slow waves or a mild degree of slowing was seen especially in the C patients, while greater degrees of slow wave abnormalities were noted much more often in the U patients.

For conditions to identify the C group, the best predictors were no spikes or rare spikes, especially on the first or second EEG, properly identifying two-thirds of the C patients and misidentifying only one-fourth of the U group. To identify the U patients on any EEG, many or very many spikes at any location or frontal spikes correctly designated a U patient in 84%, but incorrectly predicted a C patient as uncontrolled in 29%. For the first or second EEG, these values were 61% and 21%. Thus, the EEG, especially by its first or second record, can predict well the probable future of the uncontrolled patient, so that extraordinary means may be instituted early to avoid a deteriorating condition. When complete EEGs are done with sleep records and the results are quantified, reasonable prediction of eventual outcome can usually occur that is much more timely than waiting over 9 yrs, using only clinical data.
Apneic Seizures in Infants: Role of Continuous EEG Monitoring
Authors: Hosain S. , La Vega-Talbott M. , Solomon G. , Green N.
Published: September 2014

Respiratory compromise is not uncommon in epileptic seizures. However, pure apneic seizures are rare. In this study, we report 10 children who presented with pure apneic seizures. All the children were admitted because of apneic events. Seizures were also considered in the differential diagnosis. Six patients had nonspecific findings consisting of multifocal interictal epileptiform activity with no event correlation. Continuous 24–72 hours electroencephalogram (EEG) was performed in all patients to rule out apneic seizures. Ictal EEG showed high correlation with the apneic episodes, confirming the diagnosis of apneic seizures. Our study suggests that continuous EEG monitoring is essential in the diagnosis and treatment of apneic seizures.
Convergences in Course of Illness and Treatments of the Epilepsies and Recurrent Affective Disorders
Authors: Post Robert M. , Weiss Susan R.B.
Published: September 2014

The failure to achieve and maintain remission is a critical problem for a high percentage of patients with epilepsy and the primary affective disorders. Early illness onset and delayed initiation of treatment may contribute to primary treatment resistance or that associated with loss of efficacy (tolerance phenomenon).

Neurobiological data and principles drawn from the amygdala kindling model of seizure progression are reviewed for their heuristic value in conceptualizing molecular mechanisms of illness progression and its prevention with pharmacological agents in the epilepsies and, indirectly, the recurrent affective disorders. Caveats in the use of this model and convergences and divergences in its predictive validity for seizures and affective disorders are noted.
Structural MRI Changes of the Brain in Depression
Authors: Kanner Andres M.
Published: September 2014

For many years, investigators have been trying to identify the neuroanatomical structures responsible for the development of neuropsychiatry disorders, specifically depression and schizophreniform disorders. The available data were based on observations made in neurological patients who developed a psychiatric comorbid disorder following the neurologic insult. With the advances in high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and functional neuroimaging studies, we have witnessed in the last decade a wealth of new data that identify structural neuroimaging changes in mesial temporal structures, prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia in major depressive disorders. The purpose of this article is to briefly review the publshed data on neuroanatomical structural changes associated with major depressive and bipolar disorders.
The EEG Profile of Patients with Uncontrolled vs. Controlled Seizures
Authors: Hughes John R. , John J. Fino , Kaydanova Yevgenya
Published: September 2014

The goal of this study was to provide an EEG profile of patients (150) with uncontrolled (U) seizures, in contrast with those (150) with controlled (C) attacks. In the U group 804 EEGs were done and in the C group 674 were performed, all with both waking and sleep recordings; the range of EEG records on a given patient was 2–23. The number of spikes and the amount of abnormal slowing was quantified in each record. Two different peaks of age were evident, appearing at 10–19 yrs and 40–49 yrs. The number of patients with a spike discharge on the first EEG was 64% in the C and 92% in the U group with an increasing incidence to 83% (C) and 100% (U) in later records. If spikes were absent in the first EEG in the C group, the majority showed only rare discharges later. The spike profile of the U patient initially was that 1/2 showed a typical number of spikes and nearly 1/2 many or very many spikes.

Over time a decrease was seen in those with many-very many discharges, resulting in an increase with a typical number. Still later, a reversal occurred in the U patients with an increasing number with many or very many spikes.

The slow wave profile of the U patient was that 2/3 showed some abnormal slow waves on the first record, increasing to 100% in later records. The increase was from delta, not theta activity. The spike profile of the C patient was that a typical number of spikes was seen at first in nearly 1/2, but only a small minority showed many-very many discharges. The slow wave profile for the C patient was that theta, not delta waves, increased in time. The (median) time between a unilateral spike discharge to a bilateral discharge was 4–5 yrs, and the U group much more often than the C group showed this change to bilateral spikes. The time between unilateral to bilateral slow waves varied between 4–9 yrs.
Event-Related Potentials Elicited by Visual Stimulus-Duration Discrimination Tasks
Authors: Mao Wei , Wang Yuping , Shi Lixia , Wang Dequan
Published: September 2014

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded on subjects who discriminated the stimulus duration of two sequentially presented spots (S1 and S2). Four kinds of trials were included: short-duration match (S1 and S2 lasting 300 ms), short-duration conflict (S1 and S2 lasting 300 ms and 600 ms, respectively), long-duration match (S1 and S2 were 600 ms) and long-duration conflict (S1 and S2 were 600 ms and 900 ms, respectively). When S1 was equal to S2, components of P1, N1, P2, N2 and a delayed late positive component were recorded after the onset of S2. The other three negativities were elicited in both short and long duration conflict conditions. The three negative components peaked at 475, 600 and 900 ms in the short-duration condition, and they peaked at 805, 900 and 1200 ms in the long-duration condition. The first negativity was considered a visual mismatch negativity (vMMN), followed by a delayed N270 reflecting the conflict processing for duration in the brain. The last negativity, similar to N270, possibly reflects the second conflict processing activity evoked by stimulus offset.
“Mu Rhythm Status” and Clinical Correlates
Authors: Niedermeyer E. , Goldszmidt Adrian , Ryan Dawn
Published: September 2014

Rolandic mu rhythm is usually limited to brief stretches of 0.5 to 2 sec duration. Two observations of status-like enhancement of mu rhythm have prompted this report. In both cases, 4-hour EEG-Video-Monitoring was used.

Clinically, the reported cases differed considerably. Case 1 showed nearly continuous mu activity associated with general motionlessness: akinesia/amimia but without rigidity, caused by frontal lobe impairment due to multiple sclerosis. In Case 2, an impressive mu-status started in drowsiness and was presumably attributable to levitiracetam (which had rendered seizure-free the patient's formerly severe case of temporal lobe epilepsy).

Mu rhythm status, thus far, is an unknown EEG entity. It can be caused by impaired fronto-motor input and may also constitute a medication-effect (levitiracetam).
Structural Lesions in Periodic Lateralized Epileptiform Discharges (PLEDs)
Authors: Gurer Gunfer , Yemisci Muge , Saygi Serap , Ciger Abdurrahman
Published: September 2014

In this study we investigated the structural lesions of patients with periodic lateralized epileptiform discharges (PLEDs) to determine the possible relationship of lesions to PLEDs' localization on EEG and to metabolic abnormality. Clinical findings and electroencephalography (EEG), computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the 71 adult patients with PLEDs were evaluated.

Stroke, herpes encephalitis and intracranial tumor or abscess were the most common etiological factors. Cortical gray matter and adjacent subcortical white matter lesions were detected in 64.7%, cortical gray matter lesions in 11.3% and subcortical white matter lesions in 4.2% of the patients. Although it is thought that PLEDs occur mostly with acute lesions, chronic lesions causing PLEDs were found in 35.2% of the patients. Bilateral lesions were detected in 19.7% and 33.8% of the patients had metabolic abnormality.

PLEDs localized the region of the lesion in 63.4% of the patients. PLEDs are usually self-limited features, but chronic PLEDs were detected in 5 patients in this study. Acute structural lesions involving cortical gray matter with adjacent subcortical white matter were found in most of the patients with PLEDs, but the lesion localization and age, acute or chronic, varied.
Benign Focal Epilepsy of Childhood: Epileptic Seizure during Somatosensory Evoked Potential: A Case Report
Authors: Tedrus Gloria M.A.S. , Fonseca Lineu Corrêa
Published: September 2014

A 6-year-old girl with a history of partial seizures had parietal spontaneous spikes, and high-voltage paroxysms, evoked by tapping of the hands and feet, in the parietal contralateral region during the electroencephalogram. The girl underwent a somatosensory evoked potential study, when she had a seizure, with tonic contraction rising of the right leg then followed by clonic jerks of the right leg, version of the head to the right, followed by a tonic contraction of the ipsilateral arm with flexion at the elbow. The seizure lasted 20–30 seconds. We believe this is the first description of a seizure during a somatosensory evoked potential procedure.
Tonic-Clonic Seizures in a Patient with Primary Hypoparathyroidism: A Case Report
Authors: Armelisasso C. , Vaccario M. L. , Pontecorvi A. , Mazza S.
Published: September 2014

Hypoparathyroidism, a life threatening disorder, occurs when insufficient parathyroid hormone is produced to maintain extracellular calcium levels within the normal range. The acute clinical signs and symptoms of hypoparathyroidism are the same as those of hypocalcemia, ranging from tingling to intractable generalized tonic-clonic seizures; therefore, it can be mistaken for epilepsy. We report the case of a 36-year-old man who presented two tonic-clonic seizures, characterized by sudden loss of consciousness with a fall and diffuse tonic contractions and clonic jerks. At first diagnosis of epilepsy was established and therapy with valproate was commenced. In the following days, the patient presented typical signs of hypocalcemia and the diagnosis of hypoparathyroidism was made. In the 4 months follow up, antiepileptic drug therapy was reduced until suspension and calcium supplementation was initiated. We briefly review the most recent reports in the literature.
Encephalopathy Secondary to Imipenem Therapy
Authors: Fernández-Torre J. L. , Velasco M. , Fernández-Sampedro M. , Gutiérrez R.
Published: September 2014

We describe the case of an 84-year-old woman who developed a confusional state and suffered from a generalized tonic-clonic seizure while she was treated with imipenem, a β-lactam antibiotic. Focal and generalized epileptiform discharges and a photoparoxysmal response were prominent with transient changes on the EEC.
The Electrocerebellogram
Authors: Niedermeyer E.
Published: September 2014

A revisitation of EEG studies derived experimentally from the cerebellum confirms the predominance of ultrafast activities but also shows various degrees of underlying slower frequencies (from the beta down to the delta range).

Earlier personal work was based upon recording from the human cerebellum (and especially from fastigial and dentate nucleus) in connection with therapeutic cerebellar electrical stimulation. These patients suffered from intractable seizures (advanced cases of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome). Naturally, our recording technique in 1974 excluded the ultrafast range above 80/sec but failed to show activities in the upper beta range. In these cases, the severity of the seizure disorder caused structural impairment and ictal activity invaded the cerebellum.

The electrocerebellogram is still insufficiently understood. An attempt at an analysis of known facts is being made. Further research in this field is needed.
Alzheimer's Disease: Models of Computation and Analysis of EEGs
Authors: Adeli Hojjat , Ghosh-Dastidar Samanwoy , Dadmehr Nahid
Published: September 2014

In a recent article the authors presented a comprehensive review of research performed on computational modeling of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its markers with a focus on computer imaging, classification models, connectionist neural models, and biophysical neural models. The popularity of imaging techniques for detection and diagnosis of possible AD stems from the relative ease with which neurological markers can be converted to visual markers. However, due to the expense of specialized experts and equipment involved in the use of imaging techniques, a subject of significant research interest is detecting markers in EEGs obtained from AD patients. In this article, the authors present a state-of-the-art review of models of computation and analysis of EEGs for diagnosis and detection of AD. This review covers three areas: time-frequency analysis, wavelet analysis, and chaos analysis. The vast number of physiological parameters involved in the poorly understood processes responsible for AD yields a large combination of parameters that can be manipulated and studied. A combination of parameters from different investigation modalities seems to be more effective in increasing the accuracy of detection and diagnosis.
EEG Detection of Early Alzheimer's Disease Using Psychophysical Tasks
Authors: Sneddon Robert , Shankle William Rodman , Hara Junko , Rodriquez Anthony , Hoffman Donald , Saha Utpal
Published: September 2014

In this study, we hypothesized that a quantitative EEG (qEEG) method for measuring EEG variability combined with specific psychophysical tasks could improve the classification accuracy of subjects with normal aging vs. mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD). The cross-sectional sample consisted of 48 subjects (32 normal aging and 16 ADRD: n=3 mild dementia, n=13 MCI FAST stage 3).

During EEG recording, subjects performed two visual, delayed recognition memory tasks as well as a task that tested their ability to perceive structure-from-motion (SFM). These EEG data were used to compute qEEG measures of the (normalized) variance of posterior cortical activity during the first 150 milliseconds (ms) after stimulus onset and the variance of anterior cortical activity during the second 150 ms epoch. The ratio, anterior/posterior cerebral qEEG value, was then computed for each subject, and the optimal cutoff value identified to discriminate normal from impaired subjects.

An optimal qEEG cutoff value for the delayed recognition memory tasks correctly discriminated 30 of the 32 normal aging subjects (94% specificity) and 14 of 16 MCI-to-mild ADRD subjects (88% sensitivity). On the other hand, the application of this qEEG measure to EEG data recorded while subjects performed a SFM task did not distinguish between ADRD and normal aging any better than chance.

In conclusion, this qEEG measure is specific to the psychophysical task being performed by the subject. When it was combined with delayed recognition memory tasks, it yielded results that are comparable to the accuracies reported by PET scan studies of normal aging vs. AD with mild cognitive impairment. These results warrant further evaluation.
Approximate Entropy of the Electroencephalogram in Healthy Awake Subjects and Absence Epilepsy Patients
Authors: Burioka Naoto , Cornélissen Germaine , Maegaki Yoshihiro , Halberg Franz , Kaplan Daniel T. , Miyata Masanori , Fukuoka Yasushi , Endo Masahiro , Suyama Hisashi , Tomita Yutaka , Shimizu Eiji
Published: September 2014

The approximate entropy (ApEn) of signals in the electroencephalogram (EEG) was evaluated in 8 healthy volunteers and in 10 patients with absence epilepsy, both during seizure-free and seizure intervals. We estimated the nonlinearity of each 3-sec EEG segment using surrogate data methods. The mean (± SD) ApEn in EEG was 0.83 ± 0.22 in healthy subjects awake with eyes closed. It was significantly lower during epileptic seizures (0.48 ± 0.05) than during seizure-free intervals (0.80 ± 0.13) (P<0.001). Nonlinearity was clearly detected in EEG signals from epileptic patients during seizures but not during seizure-free intervals or in EEG signals from healthy subjects. The ApEn of EEG signals estimated over consecutive intervals could serve to determine pathological brain activity such as that occurring during absence epilepsy.
Acute Stimulus-Sensitive Postanoxic Myoclonus: Description of a Case
Authors: Fernandez-Torre J. L. , González-Rato J. , Martínez-Martínez M.
Published: September 2014

We describe the clinical and electroencephalographic features of a comatose patient with severe anoxic encephalopathy who experienced acute reflex myoclonus precipitated by passive eye opening/closure and painful stimulation.

Acute stimulus-sensitive postanoxic myoclonus is an underdiagnosed epileptic condition. Shortly after the anoxic insult, the diagnosis should be based on EEG evaluation and various types of stimulation. These should include passive eye opening/closure and painful stimuli.
“All that Spikes is Not Fits,” Mistaking the Woods for the Trees: The Interictal Spikes—An “EEG Chameleon” in the Interface Disorders of Brain and Mind: A Critical Review
Authors: Shelley Bhaskara P. , Trimble Michael R.
Published: September 2014

Recent research into mammalian cortical neurophysiology, after 6 decades of Berger's seminal work on electroencephalography, has shifted the older concept of interictal epileptiform activity (IEA) away from that of a mere electrographic graphoelement of relevance to diagnostic implications in epilepsy. Instead, accumulating information has stressed the neuropsychological implications, cognitive and/or behavioral consequence of these electrophysiological events, which are the phenotypic expression of aberrations of actual biophysical cellular function.

We feel that this review is germane to neuropsychiatry, however, a rather neglected area of research. There is a great scope for brain-behavior-EEG research in the future that can be complimented by other techniques of “neurobehavioral electrophysiology.” This review does not address the “pearls, perils and pitfalls” in the use of EEG in epilepsy, but critically and systematically reappraises the published electroencephalographic correlates of human behavior. We reiterate that epileptiform and other paroxysmal EEG dysrhythmias unrelated to clinical seizures do have neuropsychological, cognitive and/or behavioral implications as seen in the various neuropsychiatric and neurobehavioral disorders discussed in this article. IEA and EEG dysrhythmias should neither be ignored as irrelevant nor automatically attributed to epilepsy. The relevance of these EEG aberrations in the disorders of the brain-mind interface extend beyond epilepsy, and may be an electrophysiological endophenotype of aberrant neuronal behavior indicative of underlying morpho-functional brain abnormalities.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG), data fusion models (EEG-fMRI-BOLD), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), evoked potentials (EP); intracranial electrophysiology, and EEG neurofeedback complemented by current functional neuroimaging techniques (fMRI and PET) would certainly help in further understanding the broader relationship between brain and behavior.
Automatic EEG Spike Detection
Authors: Harner Richard
Published: September 2014

Since the 1970s advances in science and technology during each succeeding decade have renewed the expectation of efficient, reliable automatic epileptiform spike detection (AESD). But even when reinforced with better, faster tools, clinically reliable unsupervised spike detection remains beyond our reach.

Expert-selected spike parameters were the first and still most widely used for AESD. Thresholds for amplitude, duration, sharpness, rise-time, fall-time, after-coming slow waves, background frequency, and more have been used. It is still unclear which of these wave parameters are essential, beyond peak-peak amplitude and duration. Wavelet parameters are very appropriate to AESD but need to be combined with other parameters to achieve desired levels of spike detection efficiency.

Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and expert-system methods may have reached peak efficiency. Support Vector Machine (SVM) technology focuses on outliers rather than centroids of spike and nonspike data clusters and should improve AESD efficiency. An exemplary spike/non-spike database is suggested as a tool for assessing parameters and methods for AESD and is available in CSV or Matlab formats from the author at brainvue@gmail.com . Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) is presented as a graphic method for finding better spike parameters and for the step-wise evaluation of the spike detection process.
Magnetoencephalography and Magnetic Source Imaging in Epilepsy
Authors: Funke M. , Constantino T. , Van Orman C. , Rodin E.
Published: September 2014

Magnetoencephalograpy (MEG) and Electroencephalography (EEG) provide physicians with complementary data and should not be regarded as mutually exclusive evaluative methods of cerebral activity. Relevant to this edition, MEG applications related to the surgical treatment of epilepsy will be discussed exclusively. Combined MEG/EEG data collection and analysis should be a routine diagnostic practice for patients who are still suffering seizures due to the failure of drug therapy. Clinicians in the field of epilepsy agree that a greater number of patients would benefit from surgery than are currently referred for pre-surgical evaluation. Regardless of age or presumed epilepsy syndrome, all patients deserve the possibility of living seizure-free through surgery.

Technological advances in superconducting elements as well as the digital revolution were necessary for the development of MEG into a clinically valuable diagnostic tool. Compared to the examination of electrical activity of the brain, investigation into its magnetic concomitant is a more recent development. In MEG, cerebral magnetic activity is recorded using magnetometer or gradiometer whole-head systems. MEG spikes usually have a shorter duration and a steeper ascending slope than EEG spikes, and variable phase relationships to EEG. When co-registered spikes are compared, it is apparent that EEG and MEG spikes differ. There is agreement among investigators that more interictal epileptiform spikes are seen in MEG than EEG. When MEG is co-registered with invasive intracranial EEG data, the detection rate of interictal epileptiform discharges depends on the number of electrocorticographic channels that record a spike. When patients have a non-localizing video-EEG recording, MEG pinpoints the resected area in 58–72% of the cases.
Spikes and Epilepsy
Authors: Rodin E. , Constantino T. , Rampp S. , Wong P.K.
Published: September 2014

Digital EEG analysis provides significantly more information to the clinical electroencephalographer (EEGer) for scalp as well as for intracranial monitoring than is currently being routinely utilized. When modern data analysis software is used, interictal spikes contain considerably more information than had previously been ascribed to them. To optimize the diagnostic value of the EEG, sleep recordings after sleep deprivation is valuable because focal spikes, unless abundant, are relatively rare in the waking state. Recording time should also be sufficiently long to allow spikes to emerge. Spikes are always pathologic and can be associated with impaired cerebral perfusion, metabolic changes and concomitant behavioral changes. They can also be separated into simple and complex forms which may allow prognostic statements. The simplest way to accomplish this is by placing a cursor on the peak of the spike and see whether or not other channels show latency differences. More precise methods are: comparisons of voltage maps with current source density maps, principal component analysis and distinctions between stationary versus moving dipoles. Averaging of spikes is valuable but care must be taken that only those spikes which have the same distribution are averaged, and when the average is obtained only from the spike peak, propagation may already have occurred. It has been recommended that the midpoint of the ascending negative phase be used as the point for averaging.

In intracranial recordings the frequencies above the gamma range should also be assessed. Their small electrical field allows a differentiation between locally generated events from those which are volume conducted and can thereby more accurately reflect the epileptogenic zone(s). High frequency activity can also be recorded from foramen ovale electrodes which enhances their diagnostic utility.

It is emphasized that for centers which perform pre-surgical evaluations the software supplied by instrument manufacturers is inadequate and needs to be supplemented by additional commercially available programs. Furthermore, archived data should be used for retrospective investigations and follow-up studies of patients who have undergone either excisions, resections, or multiple subpial transections to evaluate the success rates by taking into account all the properties of interictal and ictal recordings which are mentioned in this article.
For Every to There Is a fro
Authors: McDonald Peter
Published: September 2014

This essay looks at the nexus of rhythm, gesture, and time to argue that play has a systematicity of its own, separate from that of games, which rarely comes to our attention. It constructs a genealogy by following the idea of a to-and-fro motion characterizing play through Huizinga’s Homo Ludens, to Gadamer’s Truth and Method, and finally to Nicolas Abraham’s essays on the phenomenology of rhythm. By looking at play as a selection of game acts, it is understood as having a style of its own that opens it up to microanalysis and interpretation. By opening up new rhythms and new ways of comporting one’s body, play is understood to have a radical connection with the experience of time, and the analysis ends with some speculation on the nature of their relation.
Playing in the Gif(t) Economy
Authors: Uhlin Graig
Published: September 2014

This article examines the creation and circulation of graphics interchange format (GIF) animations as a mode of play with moving images. It understands the production and sharing of GIFs as part of a gift economy, as opposed to commodity exchange, where the liberation of the image from its original source entails a ludic appropriation that directs focus to the often-overlooked detail, gesture, or action. GIFs open an inquiry about the divide between art and commerce, as well as between play and work. They entail a type of spectatorship that revives outmoded forms of viewership, recalling the animistic tendencies of the reception of early cinema, and privileges the unauthorized and playful sharing of moving images through the figure of what this essay calls the “dispossessive spectator.”