Tracking dynamics of magma migration in open-conduit systems

Open-conduit volcanic systems are typically characterized by unsealed volcanic conduits feeding permanent or quasi-permanent volcanic activity. This persistent activity limits our ability to read changes in the monitored parameters, making the assessment of possible eruptive crises more difficult. We show how an integrated approach to monitoring can solve this problem, opening a new way to data interpretation. The increasing rate of explosive transients, tremor amplitude, thermal emissions of ejected tephra, and rise of the very-long- period (VLP) seismic source towards the surface are interpreted as indicating an upward migration of the magma column in response to an increased magma input rate. During the 2014 flank eruption of Stromboli, this magma input pre- ceded the effusive eruption by several months. When the new lateral effusive vent opened on the Sciara del Fuoco slope, the effusion was accompanied by a large ground deflation, a deepening of the VLP seismic source, and the cessation of summit explosive activity. Such observations suggest the drainage of a superficial magma reservoir confined between the crater terrace and the effusive vent. We show how this model successfully reproduces the measured rate of effusion, the observed rate of ground deflation, and the deepening of the VLP seismic source. This study also demonstrates the ability of the geophysical network to detect superficial magma recharge within an open-conduit system and to track magma drainage during the effusive crisis, with a great impact on hazard assessment

Ping-pong gaze: Sherrington would not have done it better

[No abstract available

Diagnosis and treatment of restless legs syndrome in progressive supranuclear palsy

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) has only been recently investigated in a small cohort of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients and it has been reported to have variable prevalence (among 3.7-58%). However little is known about itsmanagement. Here,we report a case of severe RLS occurring during the course of PSP. Diagnostic issues and therapeutic approaches are discussed

Neuropsychological correlates of impulse control disorders and punding in Parkinson´ s disease

Objective: To investigate the relationship between cognitive deficits, Impulse Control Disorders (ICDs) and Punding in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Background: The neuropsychological correlates of ICDs and punding in non-demented patients with PD are unclear. Some studies revealed an association between deficits of specific cognitive functions (i.e. setshifting, spatial planning) in PD patients with ICDs, while other studies did not find any relationship. Only one study investigated cognitive correlates of punding in PD revealing an association between the two constructs. Methods: We enrolled 28 patients with ICD and punding (ICDs+P), 17 patients with ICDs without punding (ICDs-P) and 31 patients without ICDs and punding (PD). They underwent Parkinson’s disease Cognitive Rating Scale (PDCRS), cognitive tasks to evaluate global cognition, memory, executive functions (i.e. spatial planning, selective attention, set-shifting, inhibitory control, phonological fluency), visual-perceptive abilities. Results: The three groups did not differ on clinical and demographic variables. The performance of the three groups differed on tasks assessing global cognition, verbal delayed recall, spatial planning, frontal/executive functions and on PDCRS. In detail, the ICDs+P group performed poorly than PD group on tasks assessing delayed recall, spatial planning, selective attention, set-shifting, inhibitory control, phonological fluency. Moreover, the ICDs-P group performed worse than PD group on PDCRS and task assessing set-shifting and inhibitory control. No significant difference was found between patients with and without punding with regard to both clinical and neuropsychological findings. Conclusions: Our findings revealed that occurrence of ICDs and Punding in PD is related to alteration of both frontal-striatal circuitries and posterior cortical areas. Moreover, our results suggested that ICDs, Punding, and cognitive defects might be the epiphenomena of common altered neural substrate

I materiali dell'Ipogeo di Caivano (I sec. d. C.): Rilievo e stato di conservazione

A cura di G. Mascolo, Università di Cassin

The role of embodied simulation in mental transformation of whole-body images: evidence from Parkinson's disease

It has been repeatedly demonstrated that mentally performing an action and mentally transforming body-parts entail simulation of one's own body movements, consistent with predictions of embodied cognition theories. However, the involvement of embodied simulation in mental transformation of whole-body images is still disputed. Here, we assessed own body transformation in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with symptoms most affecting the left or the right body side. PD patients were required to perform left-right judgments on front-facing or back-facing human figures, and a letter rotation task. Results demonstrated that PD patients were selectively impaired in judging the side of back-facing human figures corresponding to their own most affected side, but performed as well as healthy subjects on mental transformation of front-facing bodies and on letter rotation. These findings demonstrate a parallel impairment between motor and mental simulation mechanisms in PD patients, thus highlighting the specific contribution of embodied cognition to mental transformation of whole-body images