1,721,166 research outputs found
The role of emotions in decisional processes: How neuroscience can impact evaluation of patients' ability to will and to act
No full textDementia and consciousness: how the brain loses its self
No full textConsciousness is based on the ability to rapidly integrate information and requires the optimal functioning of neural networks widely distributed between the thalami and the whole cortical mantle. Neurodegenerative processes that occur in dementing disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia and Lewy Body Disease, lead to a progressive disruption of the brain functional and anatomical connectivity that sustains complex mental activity in the human brain. Not only different dementia syndromes affect the brain in different ways but also patients with the same disease may show distinctive clinical features. By combining clinical, neuropsychological and functional brain imaging studies in selected patients, scientists are gaining new insights on the cerebral bases of conscious mental activity and of the neural events that make awareness of the surrounding world and of ourselves to dissolve
Bold temporal dynamics in absence seizures: An EEG-fMRI coregistration study
No full textRecent studies have demonstrated BOLD signal changes related to interictal generalized spike-wave discharge discharges in idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) describing a cortical-subcortical network. Our objective is to describe BOLD dynamics and its temporal variations during absence seizures in patients with IGE. Method: We studied two patients with IGE and Juvenile Absence Epilepsy. Scalp EEG was recorded by means of a 32 channels MRI-compatible EEG recording system. Functional data were acquired with a 3T Philips Achieva MR system. Event-related analysis was performed using absence seizures as regressors convolved with seven standard hemodynamic response function (HRF) starting at: -9, -6, -3 second before EEG onset of absence seizures, time 0 (onset),and +3, +6, +9 second after it. Results: Temporal analysis showed pre-ictal activations in frontal and parieto-occipital cortex. At seizure onset, activations were evident in thalamus, basal ganglia and mesial temporal regions. Deactivations were observed in precuneus from 6 sec before to 9 sec after the seizure onset, and in brainstem, caudate nuclei, anterior cingulate until 6 sec after it. Conclusion: Temporal analysis of absence seizures showed pre-ictal involvement of cortical regions (frontal cortex and precuneus). Then we observed an extended cortical-subcortical network including thalamus,basal ganglia, temporal mesial regions and brainstem. The involvement of these regions started at seizure onset and persisted many seconds after its end
Peripheral facial nerve palsy can be rarely caused by internal carotid artery dissection
No full textA case of late onset drug-resistant epilepsy associated with chronic Epstein-Barr virus encephalitis
No full textDrug resistant epilepsies represent 25% of epilepsies and lead to a debilitating prognosis with low quality of life. This requires a correct diagnosis in each patients to verify the real drug-resistance. We describe a case of a old woman that began presenting seizure at age of 70. For several years the patient was treated for a cryptogenic drug resistant epilepsy. She presented also a cognitive decline and loss of autonomy. After a prolonged post-ictal state the patient was admitted to our department and we investigated the possible causes with several tests. The EEG was characterized by spread slow waves. MRI excluded acute events. We found a CSF positivity for EBV PCR. We started Acyclovir and steroids with a rapid clinical and EEG improvement. After a follow up of 6 month the patient is seizure free
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