Age-related changes in EEG coherence

Background and purpose Coherence changes can reflect the pathophysiological processes involved in human ageing. We conducted a retrospective population study that sought to analyze the age-related changes in EEG coherence in a group of 17,722 healthy professional drivers. Materials and methods The EEGs were obtained using a standard 10–20 electrode configuration on the scalp. The recordings from 19 scalp electrodes were taken while the participants’ eyes were closed. The linear correlations between the age and coherence were estimated by linear regression analysis. Results Our results showed a significant decrease in coherence with age in the theta and alpha bands, and there was an increasing coherence with the beta bands. The most prominent changes occurred in the alpha bands. The delta bands contained movement artefacts, which most likely do not change with age. Conclusions The age-related EEG desynchrony can be partly explained by the age-related reduction of cortical connectivity. Higher frequencies of oscillations require less cortical area of high coherence. These findings explain why the lowest average coherence values were observed in the beta and sigma bands, as well as why the beta bands show borderline statistical significance and the sigma bands show non-significance. The age-dependent decrease in coherence may influence the estimation of age-related changes in EEG energy due to phase cancellation

Clinical and demographic characteristics predicting QOL in patients with epilepsy in the Czech Republic: how this can influence practice

Objective The aim of our study was to assess the influence of different clinical and demographic variables on quality of life (QOL) in patients with epilepsy in the Czech Republic. Methods Outpatients with epilepsy (n = 268) who visited two neurology departments between 2005 and 2006 were included. Clinical and demographic characteristics were retrieved from medical records. Quality of life was measured by the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory (QOLIE-31). Using multiple regression analysis, we determined which variables were associated with QOLIE-31 overall and subscale scores. Results Seizure frequency, employability and psychiatric comorbidity were found to be risk factors for QOLIE-31 overall score, accounting for 33% of the variance in the regression model. Seizure frequency was strong predictor for all seven subscales. Employability explained 10% of the variance in the QOLIE overall score and was the strongest predictor for Overall QOL, Emotional Well-being, Energy/Fatigue and Cognitive Function. Gender, type of seizures, age at onset of seizures, and systemic comorbidity had no significant association in this study. Conclusions The present study confirms that besides seizure frequency, employability and comorbid psychiatric conditions are strong predictors of QOL in patients with epilepsy. Interventions focusing on psychosocial problems and identification of factors that hamper employment in patients with epilepsy are necessary for improving QOL in these patients

Second Analysis Ecosystem Workshop Report

International audienceThe second workshop on the HEP Analysis Ecosystem took place 23-25 May 2022 at IJCLab in Orsay, to look at progress and continuing challenges in scaling up HEP analysis to meet the needs of HL-LHC and DUNE, as well as the very pressing needs of LHC Run 3 analysis. The workshop was themed around six particular topics, which were felt to capture key questions, opportunities and challenges. Each topic arranged a plenary session introduction, often with speakers summarising the state-of-the art and the next steps for analysis. This was then followed by parallel sessions, which were much more discussion focused, and where attendees could grapple with the challenges and propose solutions that could be tried. Where there was significant overlap between topics, a joint discussion between them was arranged. In the weeks following the workshop the session conveners wrote this document, which is a summary of the main discussions, the key points raised and the conclusions and outcomes. The document was circulated amongst the participants for comments before being finalised here

Second Analysis Ecosystem Workshop Report

International audienceThe second workshop on the HEP Analysis Ecosystem took place 23-25 May 2022 at IJCLab in Orsay, to look at progress and continuing challenges in scaling up HEP analysis to meet the needs of HL-LHC and DUNE, as well as the very pressing needs of LHC Run 3 analysis. The workshop was themed around six particular topics, which were felt to capture key questions, opportunities and challenges. Each topic arranged a plenary session introduction, often with speakers summarising the state-of-the art and the next steps for analysis. This was then followed by parallel sessions, which were much more discussion focused, and where attendees could grapple with the challenges and propose solutions that could be tried. Where there was significant overlap between topics, a joint discussion between them was arranged. In the weeks following the workshop the session conveners wrote this document, which is a summary of the main discussions, the key points raised and the conclusions and outcomes. The document was circulated amongst the participants for comments before being finalised here