Paroxysmal delta waves of awake EEG in childhood adrenoleukodystrophy: Possible indicator of the hematopoietic stem cell therapy (HSCT).

Background: Childhood cerebral type of Adrenoleukodystrophy (CC-ALD) is fatal without hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We consider whether EEGs showing focal paroxysmal delta waves can be a candidate of early detector of the apparent ALD and HSCT therapy.

Methods: Twenty-two male children with ALD (5-16 years; 10.

Detection of deviance in Japanese kanji compound words.

Reading fluency is based on the automatic visual recognition of words. As a manifestation of the automatic processing of words, an automatic deviance detection of visual word stimuli can be observed in the early stages of visual recognition. To clarify whether this phenomenon occurs with Japanese kanji compounds-since their lexicality is related to semantic association-we investigated the brain response by utilizing three types of deviants: differences in font type, lexically correct or incorrect Japanese kanji compound words and pseudo-kanji characters modified from correct and incorrect compounds.

Multivariate analysis reveals oral health-related quality of life of complete denture wearers with denture adhesives: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Purpose To investigate the difference in improvement of oral health-related quality of life (OHR-QoL) depending on the oral and denture conditions of a complete denture wearer when using a cream or powder type denture adhesive in a 10-center parallel randomized clinical trial.Methods Two hundred edentulous subjects who wore complete dentures were allocated to each of the three groups according to denture adhesive type: cream, powder, and control (saline solution). The materials were applied to the mucosal surface of the dentures for 4 days, and baseline data and data after the intervention were collected.

Timing of phase-amplitude coupling is essential for neuronal and functional maturation of audiovisual integration in adolescents.

Objective: The ability to integrate audiovisual information matures late in adolescents, but its neuronal mechanism is still unknown. Recent studies showed that phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) of neuronal oscillations, which is defined as the modulation of high-frequency amplitude by low-frequency phase, is associated with audiovisual integration in adults. Thus, we investigated how PAC develops in adolescents and whether it is related to the functional maturation of audiovisual integration.

Effect of denture adhesives on oral moisture: A multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of denture adhesives on oral moisture in a 10-center parallel randomized clinical trial.

Methods: Two hundred edentulous subjects wearing complete dentures were allocated into three groups: cream-type adhesive, powder-type adhesive and control groups. The adhesives (and saline solution in the control group) were applied to the mucosal surface of the dentures for 4 days, and baseline data and data after the intervention for eight meals over 4 days were obtained.

Proposal for an accurate TMS-MRI co-registration process via 3D laser scanning.

An important technical issue in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) usage is how accurately the specific brain areas activated by TMS are assessed. However, in practice, electric field induced in TMS is dispersed and therefore actual estimation is still difficult. As a preliminary step, the projection line which is perpendicular to the TMS stimulation coil beneath the center of the coil must be accurately estimated into the brain.

Alpha band event-related desynchronization underlying social situational context processing during irony comprehension: A magnetoencephalography source localization study.

Irony comprehension requires integration of social contextual information. Previous studies have investigated temporal aspects of irony processing and its neural substrates using psychological/electroencephalogram or functional magnetic resonance imaging methods, but have not clarified the temporospatial neural mechanisms of irony comprehension. Therefore, we used magnetoencephalography to investigate the neural generators of alpha-band (8-13Hz) event-related desynchronization (ERD) occurring from 600 to 900ms following the onset of a critical sentence at which social situational contexts activated ironic representation.

Neural oscillations in the temporal pole for a temporally congruent audio-visual speech detection task.

Though recent studies have elucidated the earliest mechanisms of processing in multisensory integration, our understanding of how multisensory integration of more sustained and complicated stimuli is implemented in higher-level association cortices is lacking. In this study, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to determine how neural oscillations alter local and global connectivity during multisensory integration processing. We acquired MEG data from 15 healthy volunteers performing an audio-visual speech matching task.

Auditory agnosia as a clinical symptom of childhood adrenoleukodystrophy.

Objective: To investigate detailed auditory features in patients with auditory impairment as the first clinical symptoms of childhood adrenoleukodystrophy (CSALD).

Subjects And Methods: Three patients who had hearing difficulty as the first clinical signs and/or symptoms of ALD. Precise examination of the clinical characteristics of hearing and auditory function was performed, including assessments of pure tone audiometry, verbal sound discrimination, otoacoustic emission (OAE), and auditory brainstem response (ABR), as well as an environmental sound discrimination test, a sound lateralization test, and a dichotic listening test (DLT).

Effect of an acrylic resin-based resilient liner applied to mandibular complete dentures on satisfaction ratings among edentulous patients.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate whether an acrylic resin-based resilient liner (ARL) could improve the satisfaction ratings of complete denture wearers. The null hypothesis was that no difference exists between the satisfaction ratings of conventional acrylic resin denture (CARD) wearers and those of ARL denture (ARLD) wearers.

Materials And Methods: From April 2004 to July 2006, a randomized controlled trial was conducted at two centers, including 74 edentulous patients.

Frontal midline theta rhythm and gamma power changes during focused attention on mental calculation: an MEG beamformer analysis.

Frontal midline theta rhythm (Fmθ) appears widely distributed over medial prefrontal areas in EEG recordings, indicating focused attention. Although mental calculation is often used as an attention-demanding task, little has been reported on calculation-related activation in Fmθ experiments. In this study we used spatially filtered MEG and permutation analysis to precisely localize cortical generators of the magnetic counterpart of Fmθ, as well as other sources of oscillatory activity associated with mental calculation processing (i.

Frequency diversity of posterior oscillatory activity in human revealed by spatial filtered MEG.

The posterior EEG alpha rhythm is a distinctive feature of the normal brain in the waking state, consisting of oscillations within the 8-15 Hz frequency range over posterior cortical regions. This activity appears in resting, eyes-closed condition and is typically suppressed by eyes-opening. Other physiological rhythms in the alpha band, in particular the Rolandic mu rhythm, are proposed to include a fast component in the beta range.

Facial identity recognition in children with autism spectrum disorders revealed by P300 analysis: a preliminary study.

Background: To reveal the neural substrate of communication difficulties in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), we investigated the P300 component of event-related potentials (ERPs) as represented by the average of electroencephalography findings time-locked to events and behavior. Because the P300 amplitude influences attentional resource allocation during discrimination, the component elicited during perception of known and unknown faces should indicate familiarity processing.

Methods And Results: Nine typically developing children (TD) and nine children with ASDs participated in this study (Experiment 1).

[Effectiveness of social skills training for children with developmental disorders: behavioral analysis using a two-dimensional motion capture system].

The current study sought to develop a new behavioral analysis methods to evaluate the effects of social skills training (SST). SST is known to be an effective method to improve the social skills of children with behavioral problems. However, current evaluation methods involve behavioral rating scales that are heavily dependent on evaluators' particular experiences they have had.

Audio-vocal monitoring system revealed by mu-rhythm activity.

Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying speech production has a number of potential practical applications. Speech production involves multiple feedback loops. An audio-vocal monitoring system plays an important role in speech production, based on auditory feedback about the speaker's own voice.

Survival analysis of mandibular complete dentures with acrylic-based resilient liners.

Objective: The purpose of this long-term randomised controlled trial was to compare the longevity of dentures constructed using a conventional acrylic resin (CAR) to that of dentures constructed using an acrylic-based resilient liner (ARL).

Materials And Methods: The follow-up study was essentially carried out by annual telephone calls to each of the 67 participants. The Kaplan-Meier method and life-table analysis were used for univariate analyses.

Focal cortical myoclonus in rolandic cortical dysplasia presenting as hemifacial twitching.

A 2-year-old girl presented with brief episodes of left hemifacial twitching. On ictal electroencephalography, repetitive focal spike discharges appeared at the right fronto-centro-temporal regions; these discharges preceded the onset of each twitch by 12 ms. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a linear abnormal signal intensity in the subcortical white matter at the right postcentral gyrus, where a cluster of dipole sources was detected by magnetoencephalography.

Developmental change of visuo-spatial working memory in children: quantitative evaluation through an Advanced Trail Making Test.

Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the developmental change in Visuo-Spatial Working Memory (VSWM) in typically developed children using a specially designed Advanced Trail Making Test for children (ATMT-C).

Methods: We developed a new method for evaluating VSWM efficiency in children using a modified version ATMT to suit their shorter sustained attention. The ATMT-C consists of two parts; a number-based ATMT and a hiragana (Japanese phonogram)-based ATMT, both employing symbols familiar to young children.

[Developmental changes of rapid automatized naming and Hiragana reading of Japanese in elementary-school children].

Two hundred and seven Japanese elementary school children aged from 6 (Grade 1) to 12 (Grade 6) years old were tested for their abilities to name numbers and pictured objects along with reading Hiragana characters and words. These children all showed typical development and their classroom teachers judged that they were not having any problems with reading or writing. The children were randomly divided into two groups, the first group was assigned to two naming tasks;the rapid automatized naming (RAN) of "numbers" and "pictured objects," the second group was assigned to two rapid alternative stimulus (RAS) naming tasks using numbers and pictured objects.

Reduced prefrontal hemodynamic response in children with ADHD during the Go/NoGo task: a NIRS study.

The current study examined the hemodynamic response during the Go/NoGo task in children with/without attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Using near-infrared spectroscopy, oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb concentration changes in the frontal areas were compared during the conditions with/without inhibitory demand. Compared with typically developing children, children with ADHD showed significantly reduced activation during the conditions with inhibitory demand (NoGo-condition) in the frontal areas.

Event-related oscillations in structural and semantic encoding of faces.

Objective: The ability to perceive faces is acquired through an interaction between species-specific biological mechanisms and social experience. To elucidate the mechanisms of the cognitive system underlying face recognition, we investigated cerebral oscillations related to encoding in 'person identity nodes'.

Methods: EEG was measured in nine healthy adults during perception of their own face, familiar face and unfamiliar face images.

Self-face recognition in children with autism spectrum disorders: a near-infrared spectroscopy study.

It is assumed that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have specificities for self-face recognition, which is known to be a basic cognitive ability for social development. In the present study, we investigated neurological substrates and potentially influential factors for self-face recognition of ASD patients using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The subjects were 11 healthy adult men, 13 normally developing boys, and 10 boys with ASD.

Scanning strategies do not modulate face identification: eye-tracking and near-infrared spectroscopy study.

Background: During face identification in humans, facial information is sampled (seeing) and handled (processing) in ways that are influenced by the kind of facial image type, such as a self-image or an image of another face. However, the relationship between seeing and information processing is seldom considered. In this study, we aimed to reveal this relationship using simultaneous eye-tracking measurements and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in face identification tasks.

Altered effect of preceding response execution on inhibitory processing in children with AD/HD: An ERP study.

The electrophysiological findings in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) have been repeatedly examined through a series of event-related potential (ERP) studies involving tasks that require inhibitory processing. Previous behavioral studies showed that the difficulty in response withholding for AD/HD children is enhanced by the preceding Go-trial. However, studies on the effects of the preceding response execution on the inhibitory ERP components in children with AD/HD have been scarce.