Differences in subcortical functional connectivity in patients with epilepsy.

Introduction: Epilepsy is a disease characterized by abnormal paroxysmal bioelectrical activity in the brain cortex and subcortical structures. Seizures per se change brain metabolism in epileptic focus and in distal parts of the brain. However, interictal phenomena can also affect functional connectivity (FC) and brain metabolism in other parts of the brain.

Local variation in brain temperature explains gender-specificity of working memory performance.

Introduction: Exploring gender differences in cognitive abilities offers vital insights into human brain functioning.

Methods: Our study utilized advanced techniques like magnetic resonance thermometry, standard working memory n-back tasks, and functional MRI to investigate if gender-based variations in brain temperature correlate with distinct neuronal responses and working memory capabilities.

Results: We observed a significant decrease in average brain temperature in males during working memory tasks, a phenomenon not seen in females.

The Hybrid System for the Magnetic Characterization of Superparamagnetic Nanoparticles.

The characterization of nanoparticles is crucial in several medical applications, such as hyperthermic therapy, which heats superparamagnetic nanoparticles with an external electromagnetic field. The knowledge of heating ability (magnetic losses) in AC magnetic field frequency function allows for selecting the optimal excitation. A hybrid system for the characterization of superparamagnetic nanoparticles was designed and tested.

Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation may prevent loss of gray matter thickness in the left parieto-occipital cortex in first episode schizophrenia: A secondary outcome analysis of the OFFER randomized controlled study.

The aim of the study was to assess changes in cortical thickness related to the use of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) as add-on therapy in patients with first episode schizophrenia. A double-blind randomized controlled study was conducted using a 26-week intervention composed of concentrated fish oil containing 2.2g/d of eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or placebo (olive oil).

Cine dyscontractility index: A novel marker of mechanical dyssynchrony that predicts response to cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Purpose: To investigate whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) cine-derived dyssynchrony indices provide additional information compared to conventional tagged MRI (tMRI) acquisitions in heart failure patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Materials And Methods: Patients scheduled for CRT (n = 52) underwent preprocedure MRI including cine and tMRI acquisitions. Segmental strain curves were calculated for both cine and tMRI to produce a range of standard indices for direct comparison between modalities.

The neural correlates of specific executive dysfunctions in Parkinson's disease.

Several functional neuroimaging studies in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) have suggested that changes in the fronto-parietal-striatal networks are associated with deficits in executive functioning. However, executive functions (EF) are multifaceted and include three dissociable components: working memory, response inhibition, and task-switching. This study investigated which component of executive functioning is most strongly associated with fronto-parietal-striatal efficiency in PD.

Mapping cortical thickness of the patients with unilateral end-stage open angle glaucoma on planar cerebral cortex maps.

Purpose: To estimate and compare cerebral cortex thickness in patients with unilateral end-stage glaucoma with that of age-matched individuals with unaffected vision.

Methods: 14 patients with unilateral end-stage primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and 12 age-matched control individuals with no problems with vision were selected for the study based on detailed ophthalmic examination. For each participant 3D high-resolution structural brain T1-weighted magnetization prepared MR images were acquired on a 3.

Towards neural correlates of auditory stimulus processing: a simultaneous auditory evoked potentials and functional magnetic resonance study using an odd-ball paradigm.

Background: The neural underpinnings of auditory information processing have often been investigated using the odd-ball paradigm, in which infrequent sounds (deviants) are presented within a regular train of frequent stimuli (standards). Traditionally, this paradigm has been applied using either high temporal resolution (EEG) or high spatial resolution (fMRI, PET). However, used separately, these techniques cannot provide information on both the location and time course of particular neural processes.

[Application of simultaneous auditory evoked potentials and functional magnetic resonance recordings for examination of central auditory system--preliminary results].

Introduction: Processing of auditory information in central nervous system bases on the series of quickly occurring neural processes that cannot be separately monitored using only the fMRI registration. Simultaneous recording of the auditory evoked potentials, characterized by good temporal resolution, and the functional magnetic resonance imaging with excellent spatial resolution allows studying higher auditory functions with precision both in time and space.

The Aim Of The Study: was to implement the simultaneous AEP-fMRI recordings method for the investigation of information processing at different levels of central auditory system.

Functional imaging with MR T1 contrast: a feasibility study with blood-pool contrast agent.

The aim of this study was to prove the concept of using a long intravenous half-life blood-pool T1 contrast agent as a new functional imaging method. For each of ten healthy subjects, two dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) protocols were carried out: (1) a reference run with a typical T2* echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequence based on the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) effect and (2) a run with a T1-sensitive three-dimensional (3D) gradient-echo (GRE) sequence using cerebral blood volume (CBV) contrast after intravenous administration of a contrast agent containing a chelate of gadolinium diethylene-triamine-pentaacetate with a phosphono-oxymethyl substituent. All sequences were performed during the execution of a block-type finger-tapping paradigm.

Improved recognition of sustained ventricular tachycardia from SAECG by support vector machine.

Objective: We present the improved method of recognition of sustained ventricular tachycardia (SVT) based on new filtering technique (FIR), extended signal-averaged electrocardiography (SAECG) description by 9 parameters and the application of support vector machine (SVM) classifier.

Methods: The dataset consisted of 376 patients (100 patients with sustained ventricular tachycardia after myocardial infarction (MI) labelled as class SVT+, 176 patients without sustained ventricular tachycardia after MI and 77 healthy persons, 50% of data were left for validation. The analysis of SAECG was performed by 2 types of filtration: low pass four-pole IIR Butterworth filter and FIR filter with Kaiser window.