Effect of Infra-Low Frequency Neurofeedback on Infra-Slow EEG Fluctuations

Infra-low frequency neurofeedback (ILF NF) has been proposed as an alternative or complementary treatment method. Previous studies have reported a good effect of ILF training on the subjective perception of positive psychological changes after training. Here we study whether the objective physiological parameters reflecting the brain function also change under the influence of ILF NF. Eight participants 21–50 years of age with no history of neurological or psychiatric diseases, but reporting about some physiological or psychological complaints, performed 20 sessions of infra-low frequency neurofeedback training. EEG in visual Go/NoGo test was recorded before the course of Neurofeedback and after its completion. The spectral power of slow EEG oscillations in the post-training recording was compared with the pretraining baseline. Along with remission of the clinical complaints, significant increase of spectral power in 0–0.5 Hz frequency band was observed in all eight participants in the post-training EEG patterns compared to the pretraining EEG, which may be linked to the improvement in the metabolic balance in the brain tissue and increasing efficiency of compensatory mechanisms in the stress regulation systems

Functional neuromarkers for neuropsychology

This article is written to commemorate the 40th year of the scientific career of Professor Maria Pąchalska, Head of the Department of Neuropsychology and Neurorehabilitation at Krakow University, President of the Polish Neuropsychological Society, and the Editor-in-chief of Acta Neuropsychologica, with whom I have been collaborating for over ten years. The subject matter of our work includes the introduction of HBI methodology to clinics and the search for neuromarkers in particular disease entities. What is the new methodology we are talking about? In general, we think of a biomarker (or biological marker) as a characteristic that can be objectively measured and evaluated as an index of normal or pathological biological processes. For disorders of the central nervous system, biomarkers can be classified as clinical, neuroimaging, biochemical or genetic, according to the type of information they provide. Expectations for the development of biomarkers are high, since they could lead to a significant improvement in diagnosing and possibly preventing neurological and psychiatric diseases. Neuroimaging is an array of neuroscience methods that include the techniques of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI (fMRI), and PET (positron emission tomography), as well as Electroencephalogram (EEG) and Magnetoencephalogram (MEG) techniques, such as quantitative EEG (QEEG), event related de/synchronization (ERD/ERS) and event-related potentials (ERPs)

Neuromarkers of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a patient after bilateral hand amputation – ERP case study

Introduction There is a lack in the worldwide literature of reports on the Neuromarkers of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in patients after bilateral hand amputation The aim of this study was to test a hypothesis regarding developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a patient after bilateral hand amputation with the use of Event Related Potentials (ERPs). On the basis of previous research, the amplitudes of P3 ERP components elicited in the cued GO/NOGO tasks have been chosen as candidates for neuromarkers of PTSD. Case study A 24-year-old patient had undergone bilateral hand amputation 12 months previously. The patient was repeatedly operated on (he had undergone successful bilateral hand replantation) and despite the severity of the injuries, he recovered. However, the patient complained of flashbacks, anxiety and sleep difficulties. Specialist tests showed the presence of PTSD. The patient participated in the cued GO/NOGO task (Kropotov, 2009) with recording 19-channel EEG. P3 GO and NOGO waves in this task were found to be significantly smaller, in comparison to a group of healthy control subjects of the same age (N=23) taken from the HBI normative database (https://www.hbimed.com/). This observed pattern of ERP waves in the patient corresponds to the pattern found in PTSD patients. Conclusions ERPs in a GO/NOGO task can be used in the assessment of the functional brain changes induced by chronic PTSD

Major review article New neurotechnologies for the diagnosis and modulation of brain dysfunctions

This is a major review article to acquaint psychologists with new neurotechnologies for the diagnosis and modulation of brain abnormalities. While psychometrics measures brain functions in terms of behavioral parameters, a recently emerged branch of neuroscience called neurometrics relies on measuring the electrophysiological parameters of brain functioning. There are two approaches in neurometrics. The first relies on the spectral characteristics of spontaneous electroencephalograms (EEG) and measures deviations from normality in EEG recorded in the resting state. The second approach relies on event-related potentials (ERPs) that measure the electrical responses of the brain to stimuli and actions in behavioral tasks. The present study reviews recent research on the application of ERPs for the discrimination of different types of brain dysfunction. Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is used as an example. It is shown that the diagnostic power of ERPs is enhanced by the recent emergence of new methods of analysis, such as independent component analysis (ICA) and low resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA)

Evaluation of the effectiveness of neurofeedback in the reduction of Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a patient following high-voltage electric shock with the use of ERPs

Background. The aim of our research was an evaluation of the effectiveness of neurofeedback in reducing the symptoms of Post-trauma stress disorder (PTSD), which had developed as a result of a high-voltage electric burn to the head. Quantitative EEG (QEEG) and Event related potentials (ERPs) were utilised in the evaluation. Case study. A 21-year-old patient, experienced 4[sup]th[/sup] degree burns to his head as a result of a high-voltage electric burn. The patient was repeatedly operated on and despite the severity of the injuries was to recover. However the patient complained of flashbacks, difficulties with sleeping as well as an inability to continue work in his given profession. Specialist tests were to show the presence within him of PTSD. As a result of which the patient was provided with neurofeedback therapy. The effectiveness of this therapy in the reduction (eradication) of the symptoms of PTSD were evaluated through the utilisation of qantitative eeg (Qeeg) and event related potentials (ERPs). Results. It was found that in the first examination that ERPs display the most significant deviations from the reference in the two components: (1) the one component is generated within the cingulate cortex. The pattern of its deviation from the norms is similar to that found in a group of OCD patients. In contrast to healthy subjects the component repeats itself twice; (2) the second component is generated in the medial prefrontal cortex. Its pattern (neuromarker) is similar to that found in PTSD patients. There is a delay in the late part of the component, which probably reflects the flashbacks. In the second examination, after neurofeedback training, the ERPs were similar to the norm. The patient returned to work. Conclusions. Chronic PTSD developed within the patient as a result of a high-voltage electric burn. The application of a method of therapy (neurofeedback) resulted in the withdrawal of the syndrome symptoms. ERPs in a GO/NOGO task can be used to plan neurofeedback and in the assessment of functional brain changes induced by neurotherapeutic programmes. Funds Collection: Private sources

FUNCTIONAL NEUROMARKERS OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) IN A MAJOR ISCHEMIC STROKE SURVIVOR AFTER CAROTID ENDARTERECTOMY (CEA) REVASCULARIZATION

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis of developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in a major right-hemisphere ischemic brain stroke survivor half a year after CEA revascularization, with the use of Event Related Potentials (ERPs). He was in a serious condition and had limited consciousness. Therefore, the doctor informed the patient's wife about the possibility of sudden death. The patient heard this information and remembered it, which was one of the main causes of the development of PTSD. On the basis of previous research amplitudes of P3 ERP, components elicited in the cued GO/NOGO tasks have been chosen as the candidate for PTSD neuromarkers . A 44-year-old patient had a major ischemic brain stroke while sizeable atherosclerotic plaque causing critical stenosis of the internal carotid artery in Angio-CT was dioscovered. The patient was urgently operated on using CEA. After the operation he had the opportunity to see the removed plaque which had been the cause of his stroke. Despite the positive postoperative recovery, half a year later, the patient began to complain of flashbacks, anxiety, trouble in falling and staying asleep, difficulty in concentration, a loss of interest. For the diagnosis of PTSD we used Checklist Specific for a stressor (PCL-S). Additionally we used Checklist according to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual-5 (DSM-5) classification, and the patient met the PTSD criteria. The cognitive profile of the patient was measured with the use of the Wechsler Memory Test – III (WMS-III). Subsequently, the patient participated in the cued GO/NOGO task (Kropotov, 2009) with a recording 19-channel EEG. The P3 GO and NOGO waves in this task were found to be significantly smaller at p<0.01 in comparison to a group of healthy control subjects of the same age (N=23) taken from the Human Brain Institute (HBI) normative database (https://www.hbimed.com/). The pattern of this neuromarker in our patient corresponds to the ERPs pattern found in PTSD patients. The ERPs in a GO/NOGO task can be used in the assessment of the functional brain changes induced by chronic PTSD

NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND THE NEUROPHYSIOLOGY OF PERCEPTUAL MICROGENESIS

Perception is one of the psychological operations that can be analyzed from the point of view of microgenetic theory. Our study tests the basic premise of microgenesis theory – the existence of recurrent stages of visual information processing. The event related potentials in two variants of a cued GO/NOGO task (contrasting images of Animals and Plants in the first variant, and contrasting images of Angry and Happy faces in the second variant) were studied during the first 300 ms following stimulus presentation. The independent component analysis was applied to a large collection of ERPs. The functional independent components associated with visual category discrimination, comparison to working memory, action initiation and conflict detection were separated. Information processing in the ventral visual stream (the temporal independent components) occurs at two sequential stages with positive/negative fluctuations of the cortical potential as indexes of the stages. The first stage represents the comparison of the pure physical features of the visual input with the memory trace. The second stage represents the comparison of more sophisticated semantic/emotional features with the working memory. The two stages are the results of interplay between bottom-up and top-down projections in the visual ventral stream

Neuropsychological rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury patients

The aim of this review is to discuss the basic forms of neuropsychological rehabilitation for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). More broadly, we discussed cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT) which constitutes a fundamental component in therapeutic interaction at many centres worldwide. Equally presented is a comprehensive model of rehabilitation, the fundamental component of which is CRT. It should be noted that the principles of this approach first arose in Poland in the 1970s, in other words, several decades before their appearance in other programmemes. Taken into consideration are four factors conditioning the effectiveness of such a process: comprehensiveness, earlier interaction, universality and its individualized character. A comprehensive programmeme of rehabilitation covers: cognitive rehabilitation, individual and group rehabilitation with the application of a therapeutic environment, specialist vocational rehabilitation, as well as family psychotherapy. These training programmemes are conducted within the scope of the ‘Academy of Life,’ which provides support for the patients in their efforts and shows them the means by which they can overcome existing difficulties. Equally emphasized is the close cooperation of the whole team of specialists, as well as the active participation of the family as an essential condition for the effectiveness of rehabilitation and, in effect, a return of the patient to a relatively normal life. Also presented are newly developing neurothechnologies and the neuromarkers of brain injuries. This enables a correct diagnosis to be made and, as a result, the selection of appropriate methods for neuropsychological rehabilitation, including neurotherapy