Volume and densities of chronic subdural haematoma obtained from CT imaging as predictors of postoperative recurrence: a prospective study of 107 operated patients.

Background: Chronic subdural haematoma (CSDH) is a common entity in neurosurgery with a considerable postoperative recurrence rate. Computerised tomography (CT) scanning remains the most important diagnostic test for this disorder. The aim of this study was to characterise the relationship between the recurrence of CSDH after treatment with burr-hole irrigation and closed-system drainage technique and CT scan features of these lesions to assess whether CT findings can be used to predict recurrence.

Epidemic of poisoning caused by scopolamine disguised as Rohypnol tablets.

Objective: An epidemic of scopolamine poisonings occurred in Oslo in 2008 among users of illicit drugs, caused by fake Rohypnol pills. The clinical features, diagnostic process, and handling of the epidemic are presented.

Methods: Suspected cases of scopolamine poisoning were extracted by reviewing registration forms from an ongoing prospective clinical study of acute poisonings in Oslo.

Simple dual tasking recruits prefrontal cortices in chronic severe traumatic brain injury patients, but not in controls.

The ability to carry out two tasks simultaneously, dual tasking, is specifically impaired after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The aim of the present study was to investigate the neuronal correlates to this increased dual cost in chronic severe TBI patients (n = 10) compared to healthy controls (n = 11) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 3 Tesla (T). The tasks were a visual search and a simple two-fingers button press motor task.

Mapping the primary motor cortex in healthy subjects and patients with peri-rolandic brain lesions before neurosurgery.

Objective: The aim of this study was to establish a robust set of motor tasks that could be used to functionally delineate the motor cortex with blood oxygenation level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) at 3 T and produce precise functional maps for pre-operative planning and functional neuronavigation.

Method: Twelve male and four female control subjects were recruited for this study which examined six different motor tasks. Finger-, tongue-, lip- and toe-movements, as well as isometric upper arm- and thigh-contraction tasks were conducted during separate scans on a 3 T MRI scanner.

Fractal dimension analysis of MR images reveals grey matter structure irregularities in schizophrenia.

The fractal dimension (FD) was used to reveal brain structure irregularities in patients with schizophrenia. FD provides a unique way of quantifying the shape complexity of cortical folding of the human brain. MR images were obtained from seven patients with schizophrenia that were compared with six healthy control subjects.

Diffuse axonal injury in severe traumatic brain injury visualized using high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the most common cause of death and disability in young people. The functional outcome in patients with TBI cannot be explained by focal pathology alone, and diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is considered a major contributor to the neurocognitive deficits experienced by this group. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) offers additional information as to the extent of damage not visualized with standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with severe TBI.

Brain activation measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging during the Tower of London task.

Background: Individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) often suffer from a number of enduring cognitive impairments such as in attention, memory, speed of processing information and dual-task performance.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the patterns of regional brain activation in response to the Tower of London (ToL) task in a group of patients suffering from chronic TBI using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Methods: fMRI was performed during performance of the ToL planning task in 10 patients suffering from severe TBI and in 10 age- and sex-matched controls using a 3 T magnetic resonance scanner.

Putting the brain in Jeopardy: a novel comprehensive and expressive language task?

Objective: To develop and test a novel fMRI compatible comprehensive and expressive language task that reliably and predictably activates both Wernicke's and Broca's cortical brain regions, respectively, and has utility for the determination of hemispheric language dominance.

Methods: Ten healthy men (seven) and women (three) were administered a task based on the television game Jeopardy that was adapted for fMRI presentation. The task was programmed using E-PRIME software and designed to run as an event-related experiment.