Frequency-dependent phase entrainment of cortical cell types during tACS: computational modeling evidence.

Objective: Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) enables non-invasive modulation of brain activity, holding promise for clinical and research applications. Yet, it remains unclear how the stimulation frequency differentially impacts various neuron types. Here, we aimed to quantify the frequency-dependent behavior of key neocortical cell types.

Multiscale neuro-inspired models for interpretation of EEG signals in patients with epilepsy.

Objective: The aim is to gain insight into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying interictal epileptiform discharges observed in electroencephalographic (EEG) and stereo-EEG (SEEG, depth electrodes) recordings performed during pre-surgical evaluation of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Methods: We developed novel neuro-inspired computational models of the human cerebral cortex at three different levels of description: i) microscale (detailed neuron models), ii) mesoscale (neuronal mass models) and iii) macroscale (whole brain models). Although conceptually different, micro- and mesoscale models share some similar features, such as the typology of neurons (pyramidal cells and three types of interneurons), their spatial arrangement in cortical layers, and their synaptic connectivity (excitatory and inhibitory).

Tuning Microelectrodes' Impedance to Improve Fast Ripples Recording.

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures resulting from abnormal neuronal hyperexcitability. In the case of pharmacoresistant epilepsy requiring resection surgery, the identification of the Epileptogenic Zone (EZ) is critical. Fast Ripples (FRs; 200-600 Hz) are one of the promising biomarkers that can aid in EZ delineation.

Improving Fast Ripples Recording With Model-Guided Design of Microelectrodes.

Objective: Microelectrodes allow the recording of neural activities with a high spatial resolution. However, their small sizes result in high impedance causing high thermal noise and poor signal-to-noise ratio. In drug-resistant epilepsy, the accurate detection of Fast Ripples (FRs) can help in the identification of epileptogenic networks.

Towards a mesoscale physical modeling framework for stereotactic-EEG recordings.

Stereotactic-electroencephalography (SEEG) and scalp EEG recordings can be modeled using mesoscale neural mass population models (NMMs). However, the relationship between those mathematical models and the physics of the measurements is unclear. In addition, it is challenging to represent SEEG data by combining NMMs and volume conductor models due to the intermediate spatial scale represented by these measurements.

Structural brain connectivity in children after neonatal stroke: A whole-brain fixel-based analysis.

Introduction: Neonatal arterial ischemic stroke (NAIS) has been shown to affect white matter (WM) microstructure beyond the lesion. Here, we employed fixel-based analysis, a technique which allows to model and interpret WM alterations in complex arrangements such as crossing fibers, to further characterize the long-term effects of NAIS on the entire WM outside the primary infarct area.

Materials And Methods: 32 children (mean age 7.

Long term evolution of fast ripples during epileptogenesis.

Fast ripples (FRs) have received considerable attention in the last decade since they represent an electrophysiological biomarker of the epileptogenic zone (EZ). However, the real dynamics underlying the occurrence, amplitude, and time-frequency content of FRs generation during epileptogenesis are still not well understood. This work aims at characterizing and explaining the evolution of these features.

The influence of biophysical parameters in a biomechanical model of cortical folding patterns.

Abnormal cortical folding patterns, such as lissencephaly, pachygyria and polymicrogyria malformations, may be related to neurodevelopmental disorders. In this context, computational modeling is a powerful tool to provide a better understanding of the early brain folding process. Recent studies based on biomechanical modeling have shown that mechanical forces play a crucial role in the formation of cortical convolutions.

A connectome-based approach to assess motor outcome after neonatal arterial ischemic stroke.

Objective: Studies of motor outcome after Neonatal Arterial Ischemic Stroke (NAIS) often rely on lesion mapping using MRI. However, clinical measurements indicate that motor deficit can be different than what would solely be anticipated by the lesion extent and location. Because this may be explained by the cortical disconnections between motor areas due to necrosis following the stroke, the investigation of the motor network can help in the understanding of visual inspection and outcome discrepancy.

Model-Guided Design of Microelectrodes for HFO Recording.

High Frequency Oscillations (HFOs, 200-600 Hz) are recognized as a biomarker of epileptogenic brain areas. This work aims at designing novel microelectrodes in order to optimize the recording and further detection of HFOs in brain (intracerebral electroencephalography, iEEG). The quality of the recorded iEEG signals is highly dependent on the electrode contact impedance, which is determined by the characteristics of the recording electrode (geometry, position, material).

Is the Blood Oxygenation Level-Dependent fMRI Response to Motor Tasks Altered in Children After Neonatal Stroke?

Functional MRI is increasingly being used in the assessment of brain activation and connectivity following stroke. Many of these studies rely on the Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) contrast. However, the stability, as well as the accuracy of the BOLD response to motor task in the ipsilesional hemisphere, remains ambiguous.

Global Perturbation of Initial Geometry in a Biomechanical Model of Cortical Morphogenesis.

Cortical folding pattern is a main characteristic of the geometry of the human brain which is formed by gyri (ridges) and sulci (grooves). Several biological hypotheses have suggested different mechanisms that attempt to explain the development of cortical folding and its abnormal evolutions. Based on these hypotheses, biomechanical models of cortical folding have been proposed.

On early brain folding patterns using biomechanical growth modeling.

Abnormal cortical folding patterns may be related to neurodevelopmental disorders such as lissencephaly and polymicrogyria. In this context, computational modeling is a powerful tool to provide a better understanding of the early brain folding process. Recent studies based on biomechanical modeling have shown that mechanical forces play a crucial role in the formation of cortical convolutions.

Alterations in Cortical Morphology after Neonatal Stroke: Compensation in the Contralesional Hemisphere?

Although neonatal arterial ischemic stroke is now well-studied, its complex consequences on long-term cortical brain development has not yet been solved. In order to understand the brain development after focal early brain lesion, brain morphometry needs to be evaluated using structural parameters. In this work, our aim was to study and analyze the changes in morphometry of ipsi- and contralesional hemispheres in seven-year-old children following neonatal stroke.

Extraction of the brachialis muscle activity using HD-sEMG technique and canonical correlation analysis.

The Brachialis (BR) is placed under the Biceps Brachii (BB) deep in the upper arm. Therefore, the detection of the corresponding surface Electromyogram (sEMG) is a complex task. The BR is an important elbow flexor, but it is usually not considered in the sEMG based force estimation process.

Realistic motor unit placement in a cylindrical HD-sEMG generation model.

The aim of this work is to assess an automatic optimized algorithm for the positioning of the Motor Units (MUs) within a multilayered cylindrical High Density surface EMG (HD-sEMG) generation model representing a skeletal muscle. The multilayered cylinder is composed of three layers: muscle, adipose and skin tissues. For this purpose, two different algorithms will be compared: an unconstrained random and a Mitchell's Best Candidate (MBC) placements, both with uniform distribution for the MUs positions.

Analysis of the sEMG/force relationship using HD-sEMG technique and data fusion: A simulation study.

The relationship between the surface Electromyogram (sEMG) signal and the force of an individual muscle is still ambiguous due to the complexity of experimental evaluation. However, understanding this relationship should be useful for the assessment of neuromuscular system in healthy and pathological contexts. In this study, we present a global investigation of the factors governing the shape of this relationship.

Denoising of HD-sEMG signals using canonical correlation analysis.

High-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG) is a recent technique that overcomes the limitations of monopolar and bipolar sEMG recordings and enables the collection of physiological and topographical informations concerning muscle activation. However, HD-sEMG channels are usually contaminated by noise in an heterogeneous manner. The sources of noise are mainly power line interference (PLI), white Gaussian noise (WGN) and motion artifacts (MA).

Effect of the hydroaffinity and topology of pore walls on the structure and dynamics of confined water.

We perform molecular dynamics simulations to observe the structure and dynamics of SPC/E water in amorphous silica pores and amorphous ice pores with radii slightly larger than 10 Å. In addition to atomically rough pores, we construct completely smooth pores such that the potential felt at a given distance from the pore wall is an averaged atomic potential. As compared to rough walls, smooth walls induce stronger distortions of water structure for both silica and ice confinements.

Robust functional statistics applied to Probability Density Function shape screening of sEMG data.

Recent studies pointed out possible shape modifications of the Probability Density Function (PDF) of surface electromyographical (sEMG) data according to several contexts like fatigue and muscle force increase. Following this idea, criteria have been proposed to monitor these shape modifications mainly using High Order Statistics (HOS) parameters like skewness and kurtosis. In experimental conditions, these parameters are confronted with small sample size in the estimation process.

Evaluation of HD-sEMG Probability Density Function deformations in ramp exercise.

The aim of the present study is to propose a subject-specific screening approach of High Density surface EMG (HD-sEMG) Probability Density Function (PDF) shape evolution in experimental conditions following a ramp exercise from 0% to 50% of the Maximum Voluntary Contraction (MVC) during 25 seconds of isometric contractions of the Biceps Brachii from six healthy subjects. This method uses High Order Statistics (HOS), namely the kurtosis and the skewness for PDF shape screening examined on selectively positioned Laplacian sEMG channels obtained on an 8×8 HD-sEMG grid. For each subject, the position of the Laplacian channels was chosen based on the level of muscle activation obtained from the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) matrix computed for the 64 sEMG signals of the grid in order to obtain independent Laplacian configurations localized in areas with high SNRs indicating high muscle activation.

Structure and dynamics of TIP3P, TIP4P, and TIP5P water near smooth and atomistic walls of different hydroaffinity.

We perform molecular dynamics simulations to observe the structure and dynamics of water using different water models (TIP3P, TIP4P, TIP5P) at ambient conditions, constrained by planar walls, which are either modeled by smooth potentials or regular atomic lattices, imitating the honeycomb-structure of graphene. We implement walls of different hydroaffinity, different lattice constant, and different types of interaction with the water molecules. We find that in the hydrophobic regime the smooth wall generally represents a good abstraction of the atomically rough walls, while in the hydrophilic regime there are noticeable differences in structure and dynamics between all stages of wall roughness.