The article presents an original method for the automatic assessment of the quality of event-related potentials (ERPs), based on the calculation of the coefficient ε, which describes the compliance of recorded ERPs with some statistically significant parameters. This method was used to analyze the neuropsychological EEG monitoring of patients suffering from migraines. The frequency of migraine attacks was correlated with the spatial distribution of the coefficients ε, calculated for EEG channels. More than 15 migraine attacks per month was accompanied by an increase in calculated values in the occipital region. Patients with infrequent migraines exhibited maximum quality in the frontal areas. The automatic analysis of spatial maps of the coefficient ε demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the two analyzed groups with different means of migraine attack numbers per month.
Humans ; Chronic Pain ; Evoked Potentials ; Migraine Disorders/psychology* ; Occipital Lobe ; Electroencephalography

Epilepsy is a neurological disease with disordered brain network connectivity. It is important to analyze the brain network mechanism of epileptic seizure from the perspective of directed functional connectivity. In this paper, causal brain networks were constructed for different sub-bands of epileptic electroencephalogram (EEG) signals in interictal, preictal and ictal phases by directional transfer function method, and the information transmission pathway and dynamic change process of brain network under different conditions were analyzed. Finally, the dynamic changes of characteristic attributes of brain networks with different rhythms were analyzed. The results show that the topology of brain network changes from stochastic network to rule network during the three stage and the node connections of the whole brain network show a trend of gradual decline. The number of pathway connections between internal nodes of frontal, temporal and occipital regions increase. There are a lot of hub nodes with information outflow in the lesion region. The global efficiency in ictal stage of α, β and γ waves are significantly higher than in the interictal and the preictal stage. The clustering coefficients in preictal stage are higher than in the ictal stage and the clustering coefficients in ictal stage are higher than in the interictal stage. The clustering coefficients of frontal, temporal and parietal lobes are significantly increased. The results of this study indicate that the topological structure and characteristic properties of epileptic causal brain network can reflect the dynamic process of epileptic seizures. In the future, this study has important research value in the localization of epileptic focus and prediction of epileptic seizure.
Humans ; Epilepsy ; Brain ; Seizures ; Electroencephalography ; Occipital Lobe

Visual object recognition in humans and nonhuman primates is achieved by the ventral visual pathway (ventral occipital-temporal cortex, VOTC), which shows a well-documented object domain structure. An on-going question is what type of information is processed in the higher-order VOTC that underlies such observations, with recent evidence suggesting effects of certain visual features. Combining computational vision models, fMRI experiment using a parametric-modulation approach, and natural image statistics of common objects, we depicted the neural distribution of a comprehensive set of visual features in the VOTC, identifying voxel sensitivities with specific feature sets across geometry/shape, Fourier power, and color. The visual feature combination pattern in the VOTC is significantly explained by their relationships to different types of response-action computation (fight-or-flight, navigation, and manipulation), as derived from behavioral ratings and natural image statistics. These results offer a comprehensive visual feature map in the VOTC and a plausible theoretical explanation as a mapping onto different types of downstream response-action systems.
Animals ; Brain Mapping ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Occipital Lobe ; Pattern Recognition, Visual ; Photic Stimulation ; Temporal Lobe ; Visual Pathways/diagnostic imaging* ; Visual Perception

OBJECTIVE: Dopamine plays a significant role in working memory by acting as a key neuromodulator between brain networks. Additionally, treatment of patients with schizophrenia using amisulpride, a pure dopamine class 2/3 receptor antagonist, improves their clinical symptoms with fewer side effects. We hypothesized that patients with schizophrenia treated with amisulpride and aripiprazole show increased working memory and glucose metabolism compared with those treated with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and aripiprazole instead. METHODS: Sixteen patients with schizophrenia (eight in the amisulpride group [aripiprazole+amisulpride] and eight in the CBT group [aripiprazole+CBT]) and 15 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects were recruited for a 12-week-long prospective trial. An [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computerized tomography scanner was used to acquire the images. RESULTS: After 12 weeks of treatment, the amisulpride group showed greater improvement in the Letter-Number Span scores than the CBT group. Additionally, although brain metabolism in the left middle frontal gyrus, left occipital lingual gyrus, and right inferior parietal lobe was increased in all patients with schizophrenia, the amisulpride group exhibited a greater increase in metabolism in both the right superior frontal gyrus and right frontal precentral gyrus than the CBT group. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that a small dose of amisulpride improves the general psychopathology, working memory performance, and brain glucose metabolism of patients with schizophrenia treated with aripiprazole.
Aripiprazole ; Brain ; Cognition ; Cognitive Therapy ; Dopamine ; Electrons ; Frontal Lobe ; Glucose ; Humans ; Memory, Short-Term ; Metabolism ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Occipital Lobe ; Parietal Lobe ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Prefrontal Cortex ; Prospective Studies ; Psychopathology ; Schizophrenia ; Sulpiride

PURPOSE: We report a case of homonymous quadrantanopia caused by occipital lobe ulegyria. CASE SUMMARY: A 23-year-female was referred to our clinic because of a visual field defect incidentally discovered during preoperative evaluation for refractive surgery at another clinic. However, she did not report any symptoms. She had no systemic diseases. Visual acuity was 20/20 in both eyes, and the color vision test was normal. Both pupils exhibited normal responses to light and near stimulations. In fundus examinations, the right optic disc was normal and the left contained drusen. Automated perimetry revealed right lower homonymous quadrantanopia with macular sparing. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed areas of ulegyria involving the left occipital lobe, consistent with the visual field defect. A follow-up visual field test performed 5 months later yielded the same result. CONCLUSIONS: Neuroimaging should be performed in patients with homonymous visual field defects to determine the location and etiology of the brain lesions. Occipital lobe ulegyria can cause homonymous quadrantanopia in the absence of any neurological problem.
Brain ; Brain Injuries ; Color Vision ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemianopsia ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neuroimaging ; Occipital Lobe ; Pupil ; Refractive Surgical Procedures ; Visual Acuity ; Visual Field Tests ; Visual Fields

PURPOSE: Horizontal visual field defects are generally caused by lesions before the optic chiasm, but we report a case with bilateral inferior altitudinal defects secondary to bilateral occipital lobe infarction. CASE SUMMARY: A 57-year-old male with a history of diabetes and hypertension presented with a month of blurring in the inferior visual field. His corrected visual acuity was 1.0 in the right eye and 0.63 in the left eye, and the intraocular pressure was normal in each eye. Pupillary response, ocular movement, and color vision tests were normal in both eyes. There was no specific finding of the optic disc and macula on fundus examination. Visual field examination revealed an inferior congruous homonymous hemianopia with horizontal meridian sparing and a left incongruous homonymous quadrantanopia. Optical coherence tomography for peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness revealed a mild decrease in the inferior disc of both eyes. Brain magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the presence of an acute infarction confined with upper medial calcarine fissures of bilateral occipital lobe and the right splenium of the corpus callosum, which were consistent with inferior altitudinal hemianopia and left superior incongruous quadrantanopia, respectively. Brain magnetic resonance angiography showed multiple stenosis of bilateral posterior cerebral arteries. CONCLUSIONS: The altitudinal visual field defects could be caused by the occipital lesion medial to the calcarine fissure, and unusual visual defects could be due to a combination of multiple lesions.
Brain ; Color Vision ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Corpus Callosum ; Hemianopsia ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Infarction ; Infarction, Posterior Cerebral Artery ; Intraocular Pressure ; Magnetic Resonance Angiography ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nerve Fibers ; Occipital Lobe ; Optic Chiasm ; Posterior Cerebral Artery ; Retinaldehyde ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Visual Acuity ; Visual Fields

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a newly described adverse effect possibly associated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist therapy. We report a case of PRES after 2 doses of depot GnRH agonists in a 44-year-old woman with a huge myoma uteri and iron-deficiency anemia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed high signal lesions in both occipital lobes on fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery (FLAIR) images, compatible with PRES. After treatment with anticonvulsant, she recovered both radiographically and clinically. The association between PRES and GnRH agonist use is still enigmatic, and thus should be further clarified.
Adult ; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency ; Brain ; Brain Diseases ; Female ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone* ; Humans ; Leuprolide ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Myoma ; Occipital Lobe ; Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome* ; Uterus

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Shift work disrupts the body's circadian rhythms and increases the risk of health problems. Despite evidence of neuropsychological disturbances in shift workers (SW), the brain functional status as measured by brain perfusion in chronic shift work has not been evaluated previously. We investigated the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in SW using perfusion MRI (pMRI) and evaluated the relationships between altered rCBF and sleep, mood, psychometric measures, and quality of life. METHODS: Fifteen rotational SW and 15 day workers (DW) were enrolled. The participants were all female nurses working at a university-affiliated hospital. During 2 weeks of actigraphy they underwent pMRI scanning and psychometric testing on the last day immediately after working. Demographic characteristics, insomnia, daytime sleepiness, and mood were compared between the groups. RESULTS: The participants were aged 35.3±2.9 years (mean±SD) and had been performing their current work for more than 2 years. The demographic characteristics did not differ between SW and DW, but the levels of insomnia, anxiety, depression, and hyperactivity-restlessness in psychometric measures were higher in SW than in DW. Cerebral perfusion in SW was significantly decreased in the cuneus, fusiform/parahippocampal gyri, and cerebellum of the right hemisphere, while it was increased in the inferior occipital gyrus of the left hemisphere. Perfusion changes in SW were significantly correlated with depression and insomnia severity. The onset and duration irregularity of sleep among SW were related to insomnia, mood, hyperactivity/ restlessness, and quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: SW experience considerably more insomnia and mood disturbances than do DW, and this is significantly related to perfusion changes in multiple brain areas.
Actigraphy ; Anxiety ; Brain ; Cerebellum ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Circadian Rhythm ; Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Angiography ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Occipital Lobe ; Perfusion ; Psychometrics ; Psychomotor Agitation ; Quality of Life ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders

PURPOSE: We compared the activation pattern of the mirror neurons (MN) between two types of hand movement according to action observation using functional MRI. METHODS: Twelve right-handed healthy subjects (5 male and 7 female, mean age 21.92±2.02 years) participated in the experiment. During fMRI scanning, subjects underwent two different stimuli on the screen: 1) video clips showing repeated grasping and releasing of the ball via simple hand movement (SHM), and (2) video clips showing an actor performing a Purdue Pegboard test via complex hand movement (CHM). paired t-test in statistical parametric mapping (SPM) was used to compare the activation differences between the two types of hand movement. RESULTS: CHM as compared with the SHM produced a higher blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal response in the right superior frontal gyrus, left inferior and superior parietal lobules, and lingual gyrus. However, no greater BOLD signal response was found by SHM compared with CHM (FWE corrected, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings provided that the activation patterns for observation of SHM and CHM are different. CHM also elicited boarder or stronger activations in the brain, including inferior parietal lobule called the MN region.
Brain ; Female ; Hand Strength ; Hand ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Mirror Neurons ; Occipital Lobe ; Oxygen ; Parietal Lobe ; Prefrontal Cortex

OBJECTIVE: Classifying mental disorders on the basis of objective makers might clarify their aetiology, help in making the diagnosis, identify “at risk” individuals, determine the severity of mental illness, and predict the course of the disorder. This study aims to review biological and clinical markers of panic disorder (PD). METHODS: A computerized search was carried out in PubMed and Science Direct using the key words: “marker/biomarker/clinical marker/neurobiology/staging” combined using Boolean AND operator with “panic.” In addition, the reference lists from existing reviews and from the articles retrieved were inspected. Only English language papers published in peer-reviewed journals were included. RESULTS: Structural changes in the amygdala, hippocampus, cerebral blood level in the left occipital cortex, serotonin 5-TH and noradrenergic systems activation, aberrant respiratory regulation, hearth rate variability, blood cells and peripheral blood stem cells, hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis dysregulation were identified as potential candidate biomarkers of PD. Staging was identified as clinical marker of PD. According to the staging model, PD is described as follows: prodromal phase (stage 1); acute phase (stage 2); panic attacks (stage 3); chronic phase (stage 4). CONCLUSION: The clinical utility, sensitivity, specificity, and the predictive value of biomarkers for PD is still questionable. The staging model of PD might be a valid susceptibility, diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive marker of PD. A possible longitudinal model of biological and clinical markers of PD is proposed.
Amygdala ; Biomarkers ; Blood Cells ; Diagnosis ; Hippocampus ; Mental Disorders ; Occipital Lobe ; Panic Disorder ; Panic ; Prodromal Symptoms ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Serotonin ; Stem Cells