Comparação dos estímulos clique e CE-CHIRP® na triagem auditiva neonatal

Objective: To compare the application time of the Automated Auditory Brainstem Response (A-ABR) between the click and CE-Chirp® stimuli. Methods: Forty-six newborns were evaluated without risk indicators for hearing loss and presenting transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAE). The A-ABR was performed with Interacoustics® Titan equipment in a hospital, with the click and CE-Chirp® stimuli at the same time. Descriptive statistical analyses and inferential statistics analyses (Student's t-test calculation for mean comparisons among independent samples) were used for the variables age, gender, examination time, laterality and test stimulus used. Results: Of the 46 neonates in the sample, 23 were male and 23 female. The mean age of the sample was 23.1 days. The mean procedure time using the Click stimulus was 85.9 seconds for the right ear and 86.1 seconds for the left ear, whereas for the use of the CE-Chirp® stimulus the results obtained for the right and left ear were28.4 seconds and 27.9 seconds, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference between the mean times obtained through the CE-Chirp® and Click stimuli for both ears (p=0.000). There was no statistically significant difference in the comparison between the right and left ears or between females and males. Conclusion: It was found that the mean duration of the A-ABR procedure using the CE- Chirp® stimulus is three times lower than with the Click stimulus.Objetivo: Comparar o tempo de aplicação do Potencial Evocado Auditivo de Tronco Encefálico Automático (PEATE-A) entre os estímulos clique e CE-Chirp®. Métodos: Foram avaliados 46 recém-nascidos sem indicadores de risco para perda auditiva e que apresentavam emissões otoacústicas evocadas por estímulo transiente (EOAT) presentes. O PEATE-A foi realizado com o equipamento Titan da Interacoustics® em ambiente hospitalar, com os estímulos clique e CE-Chirp®na mesma ocasião. As análises estatísticas descritivas e análises estatísticas inferenciais (cálculo do teste t de Studentpara comparações de médias entre amostras independentes) foram utilizadas para as variáveis idade, gênero, tempo de exame, lateralidade e estímulo de teste utilizado. Resultados: Dos 46 recém-nascidos da amostra, 23 são do sexo masculino e 23 do sexo feminino. A idade média da amostra foi de 23,1 dias. O tempo médio do procedimento usando o estímulo clique foi de 85,9 segundos para a orelha direita e 86,1 segundos para a orelha esquerda, enquanto que para o uso do estímulo CE-Chirp®foram obtidos resultados para a orelha direita e esquerda de 28,4 segundos e 27,9 segundos respectivamente. Houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre os tempos médios obtidos por meio dos estímulos CE-Chirp® e Clique para ambas as orelhas (p=0,000). Não houve diferença estatisticamente significante na comparação entre as orelhas direita e esquerda ou entre o sexo feminino e masculino. Conclusão: Verificou-se que o tempo médio de realização do procedimento PEATE-A com uso do estímulo CE-Chirp® é três vezes menor do que com estímulo Clique

Achados do potencial evocado auditivo de longa latência e cognitivo (P300) em indivíduos afásicos

Objetivo: analisar os achados do potencial evocado auditivo de longa latência e cognitivo (P300) em indivíduos afásicos. Métodos: amostra composta por 12 indivíduos afásicos em decorrência de acidente vascular cerebral, foram avaliados dez do gênero masculino e dois do gênero feminino, com idades entre 49 e 72 anos. Todos foram submetidos à pesquisa do potencial evocado auditivo de longa latência e cognitivo (P300) no serviço de fonoaudiologia do Hospital São Lucas da PUCRS, Porto Alegre/RS. Resultados: observou-se que quando foi estimulada a orelha esquerda os valores foram significativamente maiores para as latências das ondas N1 e P2. Houve associação significativa entre idade e latência de N1 e amplitude de P1N1 quando foi estimulada a orelha direita. Sete indivíduos obtiveram respostas ausentes para o P300. Nos indivíduos que apresentaram o P300, verificou-se como média de latência 369,7 ms e 8,6 μV como média de amplitude. Conclusão: verificou-se valores maiores de latências e amplitudes quando a estimulação foi realizada pela orelha esquerda, embora houve diferença estatística significante somente entre amplitude de P1N1 e latência de P2. Observou-se correlação estatística entre idade e latência de N1 e amplitude P1N1 na estimulação pela orelha direita. Verificou-se correlação entre idade e latência de P300.Objective: to analyze the findings of the auditory evoked potentials of late latency and cognitive (P300) in aphasic individuals. Methods: sample of 12 aphasic individuals due to a stroke. There were ten male and two female individuals, in the ages between 49 and 72. All individuals were submitted to the auditory evoked potential of late latency and cognitive (P300) research in the speech-language pathologists department at São Lucas Hospital at PUCRS, Porto Alegre/RS. Results: it was found out that the latency waves N1 and P2 were significantly increased by the left ear stimulation. There has been a significant association between age and latency of N1 and amplitude of P1N1 when the right ear was stimulated. Seven individuals got absent results for P300. The individuals who presented the P300 had average latency of 369,7 ms and average amplitude of 8,6 μV. Conclusion: we verified superior values of latency and amplitudes when the stimulation was held in the left ear, although there was a significant statistical difference between amplitude of P1N1 and latency of P2. It was observed a statistical correlation between age and latency of N1 and amplitude P1N1 with the left ear’s stimulation. It was verified a correlation between age and latency de P300

Human Issues in Horticulture: A Bibliography

This is a comprehensive bibliography of a rather broad subject area—horticultural therapy. The subject reflects a change in the definition of horticulture as the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables and flowers to include horticulture’s effects on human well-being. The number of citations also reflects the growth and continuing evolvement of this discipline. This bibliography does not include journal articles. It does include monographs, treatises, books, pamphlets, theses, dissertations and media published prior to 2000. The gardening references include a human focus and there are references as well to associated topics such as universal design, accessibility, human perception, environment and behavior.https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1004/thumbnail.jp

Marqueurs électrophysiologiques des dysfonctions attentionnelles et de leur récupération suite à un traumatisme craniocérébral léger

L’objectif principal de cette thèse était d’obtenir, via l’électrophysiologie cognitive, des indices de fonctionnement post-traumatisme craniocérébral léger (TCCL) pour différents niveaux de traitement de l’information, soit l’attention sélective, les processus décisionnels visuoattentionnels et les processus associés à l’exécution d’une réponse volontaire. L’hypothèse centrale était que les mécanismes de production des lésions de même que la pathophysiologie caractérisant le TCCL engendrent des dysfonctions visuoattentionnelles, du moins pendant la période aiguë suivant le TCCL (i.e. entre 1 et 3 mois post-accident), telles que mesurées à l’aide d’un nouveau paradigme électrophysiologique conçu à cet effet. Cette thèse présente deux articles qui décrivent le travail effectué afin de rencontrer ces objectifs et ainsi vérifier les hypothèses émises. Le premier article présente la démarche réalisée afin de créer une nouvelle tâche d’attention visuospatiale permettant d’obtenir les indices électrophysiologiques (amplitude, latence) et comportementaux (temps de réaction) liés aux processus de traitement visuel et attentionnel précoce (P1, N1, N2-nogo, P2, Ptc) à l’attention visuelle sélective (N2pc, SPCN) et aux processus décisionnels (P3b, P3a) chez un groupe de participants sains (i.e. sans atteinte neurologique). Le deuxième article présente l’étude des effets persistants d’un TCCL sur les fonctions visuoattentionelles via l’obtention des indices électrophysiologiques ciblés (amplitude, latence) et de données comportementales (temps de réaction à la tâche et résultats aux tests neuropsychologiques) chez deux cohortes d’individus TCCL symptomatiques, l’une en phase subaigüe (3 premiers mois post-accident), l’autre en phase chronique (6 mois à 1 an post-accident), en comparaison à un groupe de participants témoins sains. Les résultats des articles présentés dans cette thèse montrent qu’il a été possible de créer une tâche simple qui permet d’étudier de façon rapide et peu coûteuse les différents niveaux de traitement de l’information impliqués dans le déploiement de l’attention visuospatiale. Par la suite, l’utilisation de cette tâche auprès d’individus atteints d’un TCCL testés en phase sub-aiguë ou en phase chronique a permis d’objectiver des profils d’atteintes et de récupération différentiels pour chacune des composantes étudiées. En effet, alors que les composantes associées au traitement précoce de l’information visuelle (P1, N1, N2) étaient intactes, certaines composantes attentionnelles (P2) et cognitivo-attentionnelles (P3a, P3b) étaient altérées, suggérant une dysfonction au niveau des dynamiques spatio-temporelles de l’attention, de l’orientation de l’attention et de la mémoire de travail, à court et/ou à long terme après le TCCL, ceci en présence de déficits neuropsychologiques en phase subaiguë surtout et d’une symptomatologie post-TCCL persistante. Cette thèse souligne l’importance de développer des outils diagnostics sensibles et exhaustifs permettant d’objectiver les divers processus et sous-processus cognitifs susceptible d’être atteints après un TCCL.The main objective of this thesis was to obtain, using cognitive electrophysiology, biomarkers of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) for different levels of information processing such as selective attention, visuo-attentional decision making and processes associated with the execution of a deliberate response. The fundamental assumption was that the lesion-producing mechanisms as well as the pathophysiology associated with mTBI leads to visuo-attentional dysfunctions, at least during the sub-acute period following the mTBI (i.e. between 1 and 3 months post-trauma), as measured by a novel electrophysiological paradigm developed for this purpose. This thesis presents two articles describing the work accomplished to meet these objectives, and verify the underlying assumptions. The first article presents the approach used to create a novel visuo-spatial attention task enabling the identification of electrophysiological (amplitude, latency) and behavioural (reaction time) indexes related to early visual and attentional processing (P1, N1, N2-nogo, P2, Ptc), selective visual attention (N2pc, SPCN) and decision-making processes (P3b, P3a) in a group of normal participants (i.e. without neurological injury). The second article presents a study of the persisting effects of a mTBI on visuo-attentional functions through the identification of targeted electrophysiological markers (amplitude, latency), and from behavioural data (task-related reaction time and neuropsychological tests results) in two cohorts of symptomatic mTBI individuals, one during the sub-acute phase (3 first months post-injury), the other during the chronic phase (6 months to 1 year post-injury), in comparison to a group of normal control participants. The results presented in this thesis indicate that it was has been possible to create a simple, rapid and low-cost task enabling the study of the various levels of information processing involved in the deployment of visuospatial attention. Subsequently, the use of this task in patients with mTBI tested during the sub-acute phase or the chronic phase allowed to identify differential impairment and recovery profiles for each of the components studied. Indeed, while the early components associated with early visual information processing (P1, N1, N2) were intact, certain attentional (P2) and cognitive-attentionnal (the P3a, P3b) components were affected, suggesting dysfunction in the spatio-temporal dynamics of attention, orientation of attention, and working memory, in the short- and/or long-term following mTBI, this is the presence of neuropsychological deficits mostly in the sub-acute phase and of persisting post-mTBI symptomatology. This thesis emphasizes the importance of developing sensitive and comprehensive diagnostic tools allowing to objectively identify the various cognitive processes and sub-processes that are likely to be affected after a mTBI

Source reconstruction of the neural correlates of ongoing pain using magnetoencephalography

Pain is a pervasive, complex, and subjective phenomenon that can be described by many features and researched using many paradigms; chronic pain has a significant impact on the quality of life of patients experiencing it and constitutes a large burden on the National Health Service. Discovering neural biomarkers for ongoing pain and pain sensitivity has the potential to elucidate underlying mechanisms, evaluate therapy effectiveness, and identify regions of interest within the brain for further study or intervention; something that is possible with functional imaging of brain activity. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a non-invasive technique that records brain activity through magnetic fields unobstructed by tissue of the head. This thesis utilises modern source reconstruction of MEG data to explore brain activity that characterises tonic pain conditions, and explores the future of tonic pain research by evaluating the utility of the PATHWAY Contact Heat Evoked Potentials Stimulator (CHEPS) – a tool used both as an experimental pain stimulus, and a clinical evaluation method in chronic pain – in current and future MEG research. A systematic review of studies exploring the CHEPS and MEG, which highlights the paucity of the literature combining the two despite the potential benefits of each, is presented within. Study one investigates the brain activity changes resulting from paraesthesia-based Spinal Cord Stimulation for chronic pain: significant enhancements in synchrony for theta and delta frequency bands during SCS-on resting-state are demonstrated, and a significant reduction in Somatosensory Evoked Potential (SSEP) power spectra in the SCS-on condition – providing evidence that conventional SCS influences resting and ascending processing in the brain, but does not necessarily suppress the field strength of SSEPs. Study two compared the neural activity of participants with high and low pain sensitivity during the Cold Pressor Test, and identifies regions of interest for future study. Study three is a methodological chapter which attempts to mitigate the methodological challenges involved in utilising the PATHWAY CHEPS in MEG research: The thorough exploration of independent component analysis, signal space separation and beamforming parameters demonstrates that it is possible to suppress the artefacts generated by the non-fMRI compatible CHEPS’ thermode with the application of signal attenuation techniques, but only in an empty room dataset; the implications of this for future research are discussed

Neurotoxicity: Identifying and Controlling Poisons of the Nervous System

This Report, the first of the neuroscience series, discusses the risks posed by neurotoxic substances—substances that can adversely affect the nervous system—and evaluates the Federal research and regulatory programs now in place to address these risks

Body schema in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

This thesis documents the studies and analyses conducted as part of a research project whose principal aim was to evaluate the role of body schema in the development of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). There were three main research questions: 1. do adolescents with AIS differ from non-scoliotic adolescents with regard to mechanisms that are thought to underpin body schema? 2. in adolescents with AIS, is there any relationship between the mechanisms thought to underpin body schema and the magnitude of spinal deformity? 3. is there any relationship between changes in body schema and progression of the spinal deformity in AIS over time? To answer these questions, a systematic review of neurophysiological deficits in AIS and a case-control study involving patients with AIS and non-scoliotic controls was performed along with a series of correlational and longitudinal analyses. Fifty-eight participants with AIS (cases) were recruited along with 197 age and sex-matched control participants from schools in Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire and Coventry. Measures of body schema as well as other self-report measures were collected at baseline for both groups. Cases were followed up at 6 and 12 months. Imaging data of spinal deformity was also collected for case participants. The results of the systematic review and case-control analysis indicated that people with AIS did not differ significantly from non-scoliotic controls with regard to measures of body schema. The correlational and longitudinal analyses confirmed the lack of association between these two sets of parameters with no relationship between the magnitude of spinal deformity and body schema over a period of 12 months. Secondary analyses did reveal differences between case and control participants with regard to perceived spinal deformity, pain, self-image and, to a lesser extent, function. Correlational and longitudinal analyses revealed that these differences were not related to the magnitude of spinal deformity and that perceptions of spinal deformity may be more important than the actual bony changes themselves