Modelling large motion events in fMRI studies of patients with epilepsy

EEG-correlated fMRI can provide localisation information on the generators of epileptiform discharges in patients with focal epilepsy. To increase the technique's clinical potential, it is important to consider ways of optimising the yield of each experiment while minimizing the risk of false-positive activation. Head motion can lead to severe image degradation and result in false-positive activation and is usually worse in patients than in healthy subjects. We performed general linear model fMRI data analysis on simultaneous EEG–fMRI data acquired in 34 cases with focal epilepsy. Signal changes associated with large inter-scan motion events (head jerks) were modelled using modified design matrices that include ‘scan nulling’ regressors. We evaluated the efficacy of this approach by mapping the proportion of the brain for which F-tests across the additional regressors were significant. In 95% of cases, there was a significant effect of motion in 50% of the brain or greater; for the scan nulling effect, the proportion was 36%; this effect was predominantly in the neocortex. We conclude that careful consideration of the motion-related effects in fMRI studies of patients with epilepsy is essential and that the proposed approach can be effective

Alien Registration- Lemieux, Rose D. (Auburn, Androscoggin County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/30264/thumbnail.jp

Noncanonical spike-related BOLD responses in focal epilepsy

Till now, most studies of the Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent (BOLD) response to interictal epileptic discharges (IED) have assumed that its time course matches closely to that of brief physiological stimuli, commonly called the canonical event-related haemodynamic response function (canonical HRF). Analyses based on that assumption have produced significant response patterns that are generally concordant with prior electroclinical data. In this work, we used a more flexible model of the event-related response, a Fourier basis set, to investigate the presence of other responses in relation to individual IED in 30 experiments in patients with focal epilepsy. We found significant responses that had a noncanonical time course in 37% of cases, compared with 40% for the conventional, canonical HRF-based approach. In two cases, the Fourier analysis suggested activations where the conventional model did not. The noncanonical activations were almost always remote from the presumed generator of epileptiform activity. In the majority of cases with noncanonical responses, the noncanonical responses in single-voxel clusters were suggestive of artifacts. We did not find evidence for IED-related noncanonical HRFs arising from areas of pathology, suggesting that the BOLD response to IED is primarily canonical. Noncanonical responses may represent a number of phenomena, including artefacts and propagated epileptiform activity

Implementation and evaluation of simultaneous video-electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging

The objective of this study was to demonstrate that the addition of simultaneous and synchronised video to electroencephalography (EEG)-correlated functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) could increase recorded information without data quality reduction. We investigated the effect of placing EEG, video equipment and their required power supplies inside the scanner room, on EEG, video and MRI data quality, and evaluated video-EEG-fMRI by modelling a hand motor task. Gradient-echo, echo-planner images (EPI) were acquired on a 3-T MRI scanner at variable camera positions in a test object [with and without radiofrequency (RF) excitation], and human subjects. EEG was recorded using a commercial MR-compatible 64-channel cap and amplifiers. Video recording was performed using a two-camera custom-made system with EEG synchronization. An in-house script was used to calculate signal to fluctuation noise ratio (SFNR) from EPI in test object with variable camera positions and in human subjects with and without concurrent video recording. Five subjects were investigated with video-EEG-fMRI while performing hand motor task. The fMRI time series data was analysed using statistical parametric mapping, by building block design general linear models which were paradigm prescribed and video based. Introduction of the cameras did not alter the SFNR significantly, nor did it show any signs of spike noise during RF off conditions. Video and EEG quality also did not show any significant artefact. The Statistical Parametric Mapping{T} maps from video based design revealed additional blood oxygen level-dependent responses in the expected locations for non-compliant subjects compared to the paradigm prescribed design. We conclude that video-EEG-fMRI set up can be implemented without affecting the data quality significantly and may provide valuable information on behaviour to enhance the analysis of fMRI data

The spatio-temporal mapping of epileptic networks: Combination of EEG–fMRI and EEG source imaging

Simultaneous EEG–fMRI acquisitions in patients with epilepsy often reveal distributed patterns of Blood Oxygen Level Dependant (BOLD) change correlated with epileptiform discharges. We investigated if electrical source imaging (ESI) performed on the interictal epileptiform discharges (IED) acquired during fMRI acquisition could be used to study the dynamics of the networks identified by the BOLD effect, thereby avoiding the limitations of combining results from separate recordings. Nine selected patients (13 IED types identified) with focal epilepsy underwent EEG–fMRI. Statistical analysis was performed using SPM5 to create BOLD maps. ESI was performed on the IED recorded during fMRI acquisition using a realistic head model (SMAC) and a distributed linear inverse solution (LAURA). ESI could not be performed in one case. In 10/12 remaining studies, ESI at IED onset (ESIo) was anatomically close to one BOLD cluster. Interestingly, ESIo was closest to the positive BOLD cluster with maximal statistical significance in only 4/12 cases and closest to negative BOLD responses in 4/12 cases. Very small BOLD clusters could also have clinical relevance in some cases. ESI at later time frame (ESIp) showed propagation to remote sources co-localised with other BOLD clusters in half of cases. In concordant cases, the distance between maxima of ESI and the closest EEG–fMRI cluster was less than 33 mm, in agreement with previous studies. We conclude that simultaneous ESI and EEG–fMRI analysis may be able to distinguish areas of BOLD response related to initiation of IED from propagation areas. This combination provides new opportunities for investigating epileptic networks

Tool use behavior in three wild bonobo communities at Kokolopori

Abstract Comparative studies on tool technologies in extant primates, especially in our closest living relatives, offer a window into the evolutionary foundations of tool use in hominins. Whereas chimpanzee tool technology is well studied across populations, the scarcity of described tool technology in wild populations of our other closest living relative, the bonobo, is a mystery. Here we provide a first report of the tool use repertoire of the Kokolopori bonobos and describe in detail the use of leaf-umbrellas during rainfall, with the aim to improve our knowledge of bonobo tool use capacity in the wild. The tool use repertoire of the Kokolopori bonobos was most similar to that of the nearby population of Wamba and comprised eight behaviors, none in a foraging context. Further, over a 6-month period we documented 44 instances of leaf-umbrella use by 22 individuals from three communities, suggesting that this behavior is habitual. Most leaf-umbrella tool users were adult females, and we observed a nonadult using a leaf-umbrella on only a single occasion. While the study and theory of tool technologies is often based on the use of tools in foraging tasks, tool use in bonobos typically occurs in nonforaging contexts across populations. Therefore, incorporating both foraging and nonforaging contexts into our theoretical framework is essential if we wish to advance our understanding of the evolutionary trajectories of tool technology in humans

The contribution of sedimentation and tidal inundation in facilitating the recovery of coastal wetland vegetation following hydrologic restoration

vii, 95 leaves : ill. (some col.), col. maps ; 29 cm.Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references.This project uses a multi-scaled approach to better understand factors driving vegetation recovery on a hydrologically restored agricultural dyke land. The objectives were to develop a simple GIS classification technique of aerial photographs to examine marsh wide restoration response; examine the relationship between tidal inundation, sediments and vegetation recovery. During the first growing season, the site was marked by a decrease in vegetation surface cover. Annual elevation surveys recorded high rates of sedimentation likely killing off non-tolerant vegetation and formed large areas of bare ground. During the second growing season an almost complete recovery in vegetation. Bare ground plots became covered with brackish or salt marsh vegetation. During the first growing season, sedimentation acted as a disturbance agent. In the second growing season, bare ground patches were colonized by brackish or salt marsh vegetation. This study highlights factors driving recovery in the early stages of restoration

Conceptual models for describing virtual worlds

A conceptual model of a virtual world is a high-level representation of how the objects behave and how they are related to each other. The conceptual models identify the most essential elements of the reality to be simulated. This is the first and a very important step in the process of designing a virtual world. Afterwards, specific and complex models can be implemented and inserted into these conceptual models. This paper provides an overview of existing conceptual models used to design virtual worlds. A number of existing frameworks and architecture for describing virtual worlds are classified into six kinds of conceptual models: unstructured, graphic-oriented, network-oriented, object-oriented, environment-oriented and relational graph-oriented representations. The advantages and issues regarding virtual world design, management, reusability and interoperability are discussed