1,721,261 research outputs found
Emotion recognition in temporal lobe epilepsy: A systematic review
No full textThere is increasing interest in the understanding of emotion recognition deficits in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), the most common form of focal epilepsies. There are conflicting reports about impairments for different emotions in right and left temporal lobe epilepsy patients. A systematic review and a narrative synthesis was conducted for studies investigating emotion recognition (ER) in TLE. Embase, MEDLINE, PsychINFO and Pubmed were searched from 1990 to March 2015 and reference lists were reviewed. 996 citations were identified and 43 studies were finally included. ER deficits are consistently observed across studies. A fear recognition deficit is always reported, followed by deficits in sadness and disgust recognition. Deficits are observed across visual and auditory domains. Conflicting evidence is present concerning the severity of ER deficits in right and left TLE. Studies on anterior temporal lobectomy report data similar to that observed in pre-surgical patients. Current evidence supports the conclusion that recognition of negative emotions is commonly impaired in TLE, particularly for fear, and in the visual domain. Future work should focus on more ecologically valid test, on longitudinal studies to assess the role of anterior temporal lobectomy, and to correlate ER measures to social functioning in everyday life
Emotion Recognition
No full textThe recognition of emotional signals from all sensory modalities is a critical component of human social interactions. It is through the understanding of
the affective states of others that we can guide our own behavioral responses. Notably, facial expression provides the greatest amount of emotional cues that are
useful in recognizing emotions, such as joy, anger, and fear. The temporal lobe – and the amygdala in particular – plays a crucial role in processing the appropriate autonomic and behavioral responses to relevant emotional stimuli. Only in the past decade, however, the role played by the antero-medial temporal lobe region has
been demonstrated in decoding the emotions, mental states, and beliefs of others. In the fi eld of epilepsy, this knowledge has several clinical, as well as speculative,
implications. Indeed, temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common type of focal epilepsy. It is frequently characterized by lesions or gliosis/atrophy (hippocampal
sclerosis) involving the medial temporal lobe region, and antero-medial temporal lobe resection is the standard treatment for drug-resistant medial
TLE. Consequently, the investigation of emotional and social competence in TLE
patients has been the focus of several studies. Such studies have extended the scope
of neuropsychological evaluation in TLE beyond the traditional evaluation of memory,
language, and executive functions
Intracranial time–frequency correlates of seizure-related negative BOLD response in the sensory-motor network
No full textThe study evaluates the BOLD signal related to high and low frequency EEG changes related to focal seizures in the motor syste
Comment on "Reflex epileptic mechanisms in humans: Lessons about natural ictogenesis" by Peter Wolf
No full textWe readwith great interest the review by PeterWolf who discusses
extensively the most known reflex epileptic traits and the related hypotheses
on their ictogenesis [1]. In particular, he presents the contribution
provided by advanced neuroimaging techniques, especially ictal
and interictal EEG-fMRI studies. Among the reflex epileptic traits, eye
closure sensitivity (ECS) has been considered and discussed in light of
a recent study by our group [2] in patients with Jeavons syndrome
[or eyelid myoclonia with absences (EMA), which represents the archetypal
of ECS]. Since several questions have been raised by Prof. Wolf
in reference to our findings, we would like to take the opportunity to
try to answer some of the raised questions and to better clarify our
point of view about the ECS phenomenon
Social cognition in temporal lobe epilepsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis
No full textObjective: There is increasing evidence suggesting that social cognitive abilities are impaired in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), the most common form of focal epilepsies. Methods: In this meta-analysis, 31 studies investigating theory of mind (ToM) and facial emotion recognition performances of 1356 patients with TLE (351 postsurgery) and 859 healthy controls were included. Results: Patients with TLE had significant deficits in ToM (d = 0.73-0.89) and recognition of facial emotions. There were no significant differences in severity of social cognitive deficits between patients with TLE with or without medial temporal lobectomy. Earlier onset of seizures was associated with ToM impairment. Rightsided TLE was associated with more severe deficits in recognition of fear, sadness, and disgust. Conclusions: Social cognitive information processing is impaired in TLE, and the potential role of these deficits in functional impairment needs to be further investigated
'Progressive Myoclonus Epilepsy' in a Down Syndrome patient with Alzheimer's Disease | ['Epilessia Mioclonica Progressiva' in paziente affetta da Sindrome di Down con Malattia di Alzheimer]
No full textProgressive Myoclonus Epilepsy (PME) has been reported to be an unusual manifestation of early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. We describe the case of a 46-year-old woman with Down Syndrome (47, XX +21), who developed a PME-like epilepsy together with an Alzheimer type deterioration. Our neurophysiological findings seem to confirm the peculiarity of this association also in Down Syndrome
Ictal asystole as the first presentation of epilepsy: A case report and systematic literature review
No full textWe report the case of a 69-year-old woman who presented with recurring episodes of mental confusion/dizziness followed by loss of consciousness, intense pallor, and sweating. Cardiologic investigations were unremarkable. The electroencephalogram recorded during one typical episode allowed the demonstration of a right frontotemporal seizure with progressive bradycardia leading to a 9-second asystole. Following levetiracetam treatment up to 2500 mg/day, seizures with ictal asystole (IA) recurred. An MRI compatible pacemaker was then implanted. At 26-month follow-up, the patient has not had further episodes of loss of consciousness. A systematic review (1950-Apr 2014) searching for cases in which IA was an early manifestation of epilepsy led to the observation of 31 cases. The time lag between the first seizures and the correct diagnosis of IA was long (average: 27 months; median: 12 months). Clinical history alone was not sufficient to prompt a correct diagnosis of IA, and only 11 out of 31 cases presented with symptoms suggestive of a seizure disorder. The majority of patients had a frontotemporal epilepsy with a slight prevalence of left-side involvement (19 out of 31). Ictal bradycardia-asystole is an important condition that should be recognized by epileptologists, neurologists, as well as emergency department physicians. It is important to underscore that IA not only can occur in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy but also may be the first manifestation of the patient's epilepsy
Cortical and subcortical brain alterations in Juvenile Absence Epilepsy
No full textDespite the common assumption that genetic generalized epilepsies are characterized by a macroscopically normal brain on magnetic resonance imaging, subtle structural brain alterations have been detected by advanced neuroimaging techniques in Childhood Absence Epilepsy syndrome. We applied quantitative structural MRI analysis to a group of adolescents and adults with Juvenile Absence Epilepsy (JAE) in order to investigate micro-structural brain changes using different brain measures. We examined grey matter volumes, cortical thickness, surface areas, and subcortical volumes in 24 patients with JAE compared to 24 healthy controls; whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and Freesurfer analyses were used. When compared to healthy controls, patients revealed both grey matter volume and surface area reduction in bilateral frontal regions, anterior cingulate, and right mesial-temporal lobe. Correlation analysis with disease duration showed that longer disease was correlated with reduced surface area in right pre- and post-central gyrus. A possible effect of valproate treatment on brain structures was excluded. Our results indicate that subtle structural brain changes are detectable in JAE and are mainly located in anterior nodes of regions known to be crucial for awareness, attention and memory
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