Economic aspects of prolonged home video-EEG monitoring: a simulation study.

Introduction: Video EEG monitoring (VEM) is an important tool for characterizing clinical events suspected as seizures. It is also used for pre-surgical workups in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). In-hospital VEM high cost, long admission waiting periods and some other inconveniences led to an interest in home VEM (HVEM).

Ictal and interictal MEG in pediatric patients with tuberous sclerosis and drug resistant epilepsy.

Purpose: Drug resistant epilepsy (DRE) is common in patients with tuberous sclerosis (TS). Interictal MEG has been shown as a valuable instrument in the presurgical workup. The goal of our study was to evaluate the role of ictal MEG in epileptogenic tuber selection, especially in patients with multiple irritative zones.

Validation of head movement correction and spatiotemporal signal space separation in magnetoencephalography.

Objective: Our aim was to assess the effectiveness and reliability of spatiotemporal signal space separation (tSSS) and movement correction (MC) in magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings disturbed by head movements and magnetized material on the head.

Methods: We recorded MEG from 20 healthy adults in stationary (reference) head position and during controlled head movements. Nearby magnetic interference sources were simulated by attaching magnetized particles on the subject's head.

Probing modifications of cortical excitability during stroke recovery with navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Objective: To follow cortical excitability changes during recovery from stroke with navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS), in particular, to characterize changes of short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF), to correlate them with recovery of upper extremity function, and to detect possible shifts of cortical hand representations.

Methods: Single and paired pulse nTMS were delivered to the hemisphere with infarction and to the hemisphere without infarction in 14 first-ever stroke patients at 1 (T1) and 3 months (T2) after stroke. Electromyographic responses to nTMS stimulation were recorded from the first dorsal interosseus muscles.

Electrophysiological correlates of short-latency afferent inhibition: a combined EEG and TMS study.

Cutaneous stimulation produces short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Since the demonstration of SAI is primarily based on the attenuation of MEPs, its cortical origin is not yet fully understood. In the present study we combined TMS with concurrent electroencephalography (EEG) in order to obtain direct cortical correlates of SAI.

Sensory afferent inhibition within and between limbs in humans.

Objective: To examine the distribution and inter-limb interaction of short-latency afferent inhibition (SAI) in the arm and leg.

Methods: Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in distal and proximal arm, shoulder and leg muscles induced with ranscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) were conditioned by painless electrical stimuli applied to the index finger (D2) and great toe (T1) at interstimulus intervals (ISIs) of 15, 25-35, 80 ms (D2) and 35, 45, 55, 65 and 100 ms (T1) in 27 healthy human subjects. TMS was delivered over primary motor cortex (M1) arm and leg areas.

Fine tuning the correlation limit of spatio-temporal signal space separation for magnetoencephalography.

Head, jaw and tongue movements contribute to speech artifacts in magnetoencephalography (MEG). Their sources lay close to MEG sensors, therefore, the spatio-temporal signal space separation method (tSSS), specifically suppressing nearby artifacts, can be used for speech artifact suppression. After data reconstruction by signal space separation (referred as SSS), tSSS identifies artifacts by their correlated temporal behavior inside and outside the sensor helmet.

Artifact and head movement compensation in MEG.

Purpose: Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is traditionally considered impractical if the subject's head moves during measurements. A novel approach to correct the head position and the associated movement-related artifacts does, however, exist: continuous head position monitoring and movement compensation (MC) realized by the signal space separation (SSS) or its temporal extension (tSSS). The latter is especially important for rejection of close-to-sensor artifacts.

Abnormal plasticity of the sensorimotor cortex to slow repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in patients with writer's cramp.

Previous studies demonstrated functional abnormalities in the somatosensory system, including a distorted functional organization of the somatosensory cortex (S1) in patients with writer's cramp. We tested the hypothesis that these functional alterations render S1 of these patients more susceptible to the "inhibitory" effects of subthreshold 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) given to S1. Seven patients with writer's cramp and eight healthy subjects were studied.

[The actualization of heteronomous monosynaptic connections of IA afferents in the muscle motor centers of the human hand].

Reflex excitability of spinal centers of hand muscles was examined in normal subjects and patients with traumatic lesion of forearm nerves. Central and peripheral muscle responses were evoked by stimulation of homonymous and heteronymous nerves. Patients with median and/or ulnar nerve lesion showed the heteronymous abductor pollicis brevis and abductor digit minimi H-responses.