Gait Velocity Alterations in Essential Tremor: a Meta-Analysis.

Essential tremor (ET) is a prevalent movement disorder that impairs gait function, including gait speed - a critical marker of mobility disability and adverse outcomes. This meta-analysis aimed to quantify differences in gait speed between individuals diagnosed with ET compared to people without a movement disorder diagnosis. Electronic databases were searched for studies comparing gait speed in ET patients and controls.

Clinical trials in neuromodulatory treatment of drug-resistant hypertension and the need for spinal cord stimulation trials: a PRISMA systematic review.

Background: Drug-resistant hypertension affects approximately 9-18% of the United States hypertensive population. Recognized as hypertension that is resistant to three or more medications, drug-resistant hypertension can lead to fatal sequelae, such as heart failure, aortic dissection, and other vast systemic disease. The disruption of the homeostatic mechanisms that stabilize blood pressure can be treated procedurally when medication fails.

Exploring age-related differences in the relationship between spatial and temporal contributions to step length asymmetry during split-belt adaptation.

Gait adaptability is crucial for meeting environmental demands, and impaired gait adaptation increases fall risk, particularly in older adults. While prior research exists on older adults' gait adaptation, particularly in perturbation studies, the specific contributions of temporal and spatial adaptation strategies to step length asymmetry (SLA) during split-belt treadmill walking require further examination. This study fills this gap by evaluating how distinct adaptation strategies contribute to SLA in healthy young and older adults.

Directional Stimulus-Evoked Pallidal Electrophysiology in Primary Dystonia.

Background: Deep brain stimulation for dystonia improves motor symptoms but variable and delayed responses challenge patient selection, targeting, and device programming.

Case Report: Here we studied intracranial electrophysiology in a patient with primary dystonia and observed evoked resonant neural activity (ERNA) in the globus pallidus interna. These local stimulus-evoked potentials displayed refractory periods and paired-pulse facilitation at clinically relevant interstimulus intervals.

Low-Frequency Oscillations in Mid-rostral Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Support Response Inhibition.

Executive control of movement enables inhibiting impulsive responses critical for successful navigation of the environment. Circuits mediating stop commands involve prefrontal and basal ganglia structures with fMRI evidence demonstrating increased activity during response inhibition in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC)-often ascribed to maintaining task attentional demands. Using direct intraoperative cortical recordings in male and female human subjects, we investigated oscillatory dynamics along the rostral-caudal axis of dlPFC during a modified Go/No-go task, probing components of both proactive and reactive motor control.

Nonequivalent Atomic Vibrations at Interfaces in a Polar Superlattice.

In heterostructures made from polar materials, e.g., AlN-GaN-AlN, the nonequivalence of the two interfaces is long recognized as a critical aspect of their electronic properties; in that, they host different 2D carrier gases.

Evaluating Postural Transition Movement Performance in Individuals with Essential Tremor via the Instrumented Timed Up and Go.

Flexibility in performing various movements like standing, walking, and turning is crucial for navigating dynamic environments in daily life. Individuals with essential tremor often experience movement difficulties that can affect these postural transitions, limiting mobility and independence. Yet, little research has examined the performance of postural transitions in people with essential tremor.

Differential Cognitive Effects of Unilateral Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the cognitive effects of unilateral directional versus ring subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN DBS) in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.

Methods: We examined 31 participants who underwent unilateral STN DBS (left n = 17; right n = 14) as part of an National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored randomized, double-blind, crossover study contrasting directional versus ring stimulation. All participants received unilateral DBS implants in the hemisphere more severely affected by motor parkinsonism.

Differential contribution of sensorimotor cortex and subthalamic nucleus to unimanual and bimanual hand movements.

Why does unilateral deep brain stimulation improve motor function bilaterally? To address this clinical observation, we collected parallel neural recordings from sensorimotor cortex (SMC) and the subthalamic nucleus (STN) during repetitive ipsilateral, contralateral, and bilateral hand movements in patients with Parkinson's disease. We used a cross-validated electrode-wise encoding model to map electromyography data to the neural signals. Electrodes in the STN encoded movement at a comparable level for both hands, whereas SMC electrodes displayed a strong contralateral bias.

Alternative patterns of deep brain stimulation in neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a widely used clinical therapy that modulates neuronal firing in subcortical structures, eliciting downstream network effects. Its effectiveness is determined by electrode geometry and location as well as adjustable stimulation parameters including pulse width, interstimulus interval, frequency, and amplitude. These parameters are often determined empirically during clinical or intraoperative programming and can be altered to an almost unlimited number of combinations.

Differential cognitive effects of unilateral left and right subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation for Parkinson disease.

Objective: To investigate hemispheric effects of directional versus ring subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery on cognitive function in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: We examined 31 PD patients (Left STN n = 17; Right STN n = 14) who underwent unilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) DBS as part of a NIH-sponsored randomized, cross-over, double-blind (ring vs directional) clinical trial. Outcome measures were tests of verbal fluency, auditory-verbal memory, and response inhibition.

Data Archive for the BRAIN Initiative (DABI).

Data sharing is becoming ubiquitous and can be advantageous for most biomedical research. However, some data are inherently more amenable to sharing than others. For example, human intracranial neurophysiology recordings and associated multimodal data have unique features that warrant special considerations.

Local anatomy, stimulation site, and time alter directional deep brain stimulation impedances.

Directional deep brain stimulation (DBS) contacts provide greater spatial flexibility for therapy than traditional ring-shaped electrodes, but little is known about longitudinal changes of impedance and orientation. We measured monopolar and bipolar impedance of DBS contacts in 31 patients who underwent unilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation as part of a randomized study (SUNDIAL, NCT03353688). At different follow-up visits, patients were assigned new stimulation configurations and impedance was measured.

Cortical and Subthalamic Nucleus Spectral Changes During Limb Movements in Parkinson's Disease Patients with and Without Dystonia.

Background: Dystonia is an understudied motor feature of Parkinson's disease (PD). Although considerable efforts have focused on brain oscillations related to the cardinal symptoms of PD, whether dystonia is associated with specific electrophysiological features is unclear.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate subcortical and cortical field potentials at rest and during contralateral hand and foot movements in patients with PD with and without dystonia.

Neuropsychological Functioning in Primary Dystonia: Updated and Expanded Multidomain Meta-Analysis.

Background: Primary dystonia is conventionally considered as a motor disorder, though an emerging literature reports associated cognitive dysfunction.

Objectives: Here, we conducted meta-analyses on studies comparing clinical measures of cognition in persons with primary dystonia and healthy controls (HCs).

Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and PsycINFO (January 2000-October 2020).

Effects of sensory manipulations on locomotor adaptation to split-belt treadmill walking in healthy younger and older adults.

Locomotor adaptation relies on processes of both the peripheral and central nervous systems that may be compromised with advanced age (e.g., proprioception, sensorimotor integration).

Novel lower-extremity dexterity assessment for Parkinson's disease: validation against measures of arm dexterity and general mobility.

Purpose: To establish criterion and construct validity of a novel, clinically feasible assessment of lower-extremity dexterity for PD patients.

Methods: Thirty-three PD patients performed a unilateral lower-extremity dexterity task "off" and "on" dopaminergic medications with each leg. The task involves iteratively tapping targets with the foot in a specified pattern, and the measured outcome is the time to complete the movement sequence, with longer times indicating worse performance.

Cross-disorder comparison of sensory over-responsivity in chronic tic disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Sensory over-responsivity (SOR) refers to excessively intense and/or prolonged behavioral responses to environmental stimuli typically perceived as non-aversive. SOR is prevalent in several neurodevelopmental disorders, including chronic tic disorders (CTDs) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Few studies have examined the extent and clinical correlates of SOR across disorders, limiting insights into the phenomenon's transdiagnostic clinical and biological relevance.

Toward Learning in Neuromorphic Circuits Based on Quantum Phase Slip Junctions.

We explore the use of superconducting quantum phase slip junctions (QPSJs), an electromagnetic dual to Josephson Junctions (JJs), in neuromorphic circuits. These small circuits could serve as the building blocks of neuromorphic circuits for machine learning applications because they exhibit desirable properties such as inherent ultra-low energy per operation, high speed, dense integration, negligible loss, and natural spiking responses. In addition, they have a relatively straight-forward micro/nano fabrication, which shows promise for implementation of an enormous number of lossless interconnections that are required to realize complex neuromorphic systems.

Correlates of deep brain stimulation consensus conference decision to treat primary dystonia.

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective treatment for motor disturbance in people with primary dystonia (PWD). Numerous factors are considered by an interdisciplinary consensus conference before deciding candidacy for DBS surgery (e.g.

Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS) for Treatment of Chronic Post-Stroke Aphasia: Results of a Pilot Randomized, Double-Blind, Sham-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND Research indicates intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is a potential treatment of post-stroke aphasia. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this double-blind, sham-controlled trial (NCT01512264) participants were randomized to receive 3 weeks of sham (G₀), 1 week of iTBS/2 weeks of sham (G₁), 2 weeks of iTBS/1 week of sham (G₂), or 3 weeks of iTBS (G₃). FMRI localized residual language function in the left hemisphere; iTBS was applied to the maximum fMRI activation in the residual language cortex in the left frontal lobe.

Subcortical short-term plasticity elicited by deep brain stimulation.

Objective: To investigate local short-term neuroplasticity elicited by subthalamic, thalamic, and pallidal deep brain stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders.

Methods: During DBS surgery, we delivered pairs of stimulus pulses with both circular and directional leads across 90 interstimulus intervals in 17 participants and recorded local field potentials from unused contacts on the implanted electrode array. We removed the stimulus artifact, validated the neural origin of the underlying signals, and examined short-term plasticity as a function of interstimulus interval and DBS target, using linear mixed effects models.

Walking Speed Reliably Measures Clinically Significant Changes in Gait by Directional Deep Brain Stimulation.

Although deep brain stimulation (DBS) often improves levodopa-responsive gait symptoms, robust therapies for gait dysfunction from Parkinson's disease (PD) remain a major unmet need. Walking speed could represent a simple, integrated tool to assess DBS efficacy but is often not examined systematically or quantitatively during DBS programming. Here we investigate the reliability and functional significance of changes in gait by directional DBS in the subthalamic nucleus.