28 research outputs found
Activation detection in fMRI data via multi-scale singularity detection
Detection of active areas in the brain by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a challenging problem in medical imaging. Moreover, determining the onset and end of activation signal at specific locations in 3-space can determined networks of temporal relationships required for brain mapping. We introduce a method for activation detection in fMRI data via wavelet analysis of singular features. We pose the problem of determining activated areas as singularity detection in the temporal domain. Overcomplete wavelet expansion at integer scales are used to trace wavelet modulus maxima across scales to construct maxima lines. Form these maxima lines, singularities in the signal are located corresponding to the onset and end of an activation signal. We present result for simulated phantom waveforms and clinical fMRI dat from human finger tapping experiments. Different levels of noise were added to two waveforms of phantom data. No assumptions about specific frequency and amplitude of an activation signal were made prior to analysis. Detection was reliable for modest levels of random noise, but less precise at higher levels. For clinical fMRI data, activation maps were comparable to those of existing standard techniques
High-Dose Glycine Treatment of Refractory Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Body Dysmorphic Disorder in a 5-Year Period
This paper describes an individual who was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) at age 17 when education was discontinued. By age 19, he was housebound without social contacts except for parents. Adequate trials of three selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, two with atypical neuroleptics, were ineffective. Major exacerbations following ear infections involving Group A β-hemolytic streptococcus at ages 19 and 20 led to intravenous immune globulin therapy, which was also ineffective. At age 22, another severe exacerbation followed antibiotic treatment for H. pylori. This led to a hypothesis that postulates deficient signal transduction by the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR). Treatment with glycine, an NMDAR coagonist, over 5 years led to robust reduction of OCD/BDD signs and symptoms except for partial relapses during treatment cessation. Education and social life were resumed and evidence suggests improved cognition. Our findings motivate further study of glycine treatment of OCD and BDD
Recommended from our members
Differential Regional Dysfunction of the Hippocampal Formation among Elderly with Memory Decline and Alzheimer's Disease
The hippocampal formation is composed of separate anatomical regions interconnected to form a circuit, and investigating abnormal hippocampal function is most revealing at the level of these regions. Until recently, regional analysis of the hippocampal formation could be performed only in animals or in human postmortem tissue. Here, we report a method using functional magnetic resonance imaging that evaluates the hippocampal regions in vivo, and we use this method to study elderly with normal memory, with isolated memory decline, and with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although age-related memory decline occurs commonly, the cause of this decline remains unknown, with disagreement as to whether this decline represents one or more etiologies. Analysis revealed two distinct patterns of regional dysfunction among elderly with isolated memory decline--one pattern similar to that found in elders with AD, involving all hippocampal regions, and a second pattern with dysfunction restricted to only one hippocampal region, the subiculum. These results offer direct evidence of hippocampal dysfunction associated with memory decline in the elderly, and implicate both predementia AD and non-AD processes as possible underlying cause
Exploring the Neural Basis of Cognitive Reserve
There is epidemiologic and imaging evidence for the presence of cognitive reserve, but the neurophysiologic substrate of CR has not been established. In order to test the hypothesis that CR is related to aspects of neural processing, we used fMRI to image 19 healthy young adults while they performed a nonverbal recognition test. There were two task conditions. A low demand condition required encoding and recognition of single items and a titrated demand condition required the subject to encode and then recognize a larger list of items, with the study list size for each subject adjusted prior to scanning such that recognition accuracy was 75%. We hypothesized that individual differences in cognitive reserve are related to changes in neural activity as subjects moved from the low to the titrated demand task. To test this, we examined the correlation between subjects' fMRI activation and NART scores. This analysis was implemented voxel-wise in a whole brain fMRI dataset. During both the study and test phases of the recognition memory task we noted areas where, across subjects, there were significant positive and negative correlations between change in activation from low to titrated demand and the NART score. These correlations support our hypothesis that neural processing differs across individuals as a function of CR. This differential processing may help explain individual differences in capacity, and may underlie reserve against age-related or other pathologic changes
Identification and Differential Vulnerability of a Neural Network in Sleep Deprivation
The study aimed to identify task-related brain activation networks whose change in expression exhibits subject differences as a function of differential susceptibility to sleep deprivation. Brain activity during a non-verbal recognition memory task was investigated in an event-related functional MRI paradigm both prior to and after 48 h of sleep deprivation. Nineteen healthy subjects participated. Regional covariance analysis was applied to data. An activation network pattern was identified whose expression decreased from pre- to post-sleep deprivation in 15 out 19 subjects (P < 0.05). Differential decrease in expression correlated with worsening performance in recognition accuracy (P < 0.05). Sites of de-activation were found in the posterior cerebellum, right fusiform gyrus and precuneus, and left lingual and inferior temporal gyri; increased activation was found in the bilateral insula, claustrum and right putamen. A network whose expression decreased after sleep deprivation and correlated with memory performance was identified. We conclude that this activation network plays a role in cognitive function during sleep deprivation
Recommended from our members
Evaluating the function of hippocampal subregions with high-resolution MRI in Alzheimer's disease and aging
Memory ability declines in older age groups. There is a growing list of physiological processes that target the hippocampal formation in an age-related fashion, and some might underlie the hippocampal component of memory decline. The hippocampal formation is comprised of separate subregions, and physiological processes differentially target these subregions. The ability to evaluate the functional integrity of individual subregions—performing subregional analysis—is a major clinical goal since it can aid in the diagnosis of memory decline, as well as in elucidating mechanisms of disease and testing potential interventions. Because of its superior spatial resolution, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is best suited to accomplish this goal. Despite limited success, most functional MRI (fMRI) protocols have difficulty in performing complete subregional analysis of the hippocampal formation. Here we address sources of difficulty by (1) generating T2* -weighted maps of the hippocampal formation with sub-millimeter resolution; and (2) by adapting an approach used by animal investigators to identify the hippocampal subregions using anatomical landmarks. The protocol is tested in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and in healthy controls, in an effort to determine whether it can detect neuronal dysfunction. Results showed diminished signal in the hippocampal formation of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) compared to controls, and multivariate analysis showed that this difference was most prominent in the entorhinal cortex. The protocol can be used to perform subregional analysis of the hippocampal formation. Testing the protocol in other clinical populations is needed to demonstrate its efficacy in evaluating the neuronal integrity of all hippocampal subregions. Microsc. Res. Tech. 51:101–108, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc
Eosinophilic vasculitis in an isolated central nervous system distribution
Eosinophilic vasculitis has been described as part of the Churg–Strauss syndrome, but affects the central nervous system (CNS) in <10% of cases. A 39-year-old woman with a history of migraine without aura presented to an institution in an acute confusional state with concurrent headache and left-sided weakness. Laboratory evaluation showed an increased cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein level, but otherwise unremarkable serologies. Magnetic resonance imaging showed bifrontal polar gyral-enhancing brain lesions. Her symptoms resolved over two weeks without residual deficits. Eighteen months later the patient presented with similar symptoms and neuroradiological findings showed involvement of territories different from those in her first episode. Brain biopsy showed transmural, predominantly eosinophilic, inflammatory infiltrates and fibrinoid necrosis without granulomas. She improved when treated with corticosteroids. To our knowledge, this is the first case of non-granulomatous eosinophilic vasculitis isolated to the CNS. No aetiology for this patient’s primary CNS eosinophilic vasculitis has yet been identified