The role of the somatosensory cortex in self-paced movement impairment in Parkinson's disease.

Objective: The aim of this work was to study the differences at the whole-brain level between self-paced and cued movement processing in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: High density electroencephalogram (HD-EEG) was recorded during the performance of self-paced movements (Bereitschaftspotential - BP) and visually cued movements (VMT) in PD patients (n = 38) and in a group of healthy controls (HC, n = 23). Oscillatory changes in the alpha, beta, and gamma frequencies were evaluated and correlated to the clinical scales- MDS-UPDRS and Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOGQ).

Revealing connectivity patterns of deep brain stimulation efficacy in Parkinson's disease.

The aim of this work was to study the effect of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) on the subnetwork of subcortical and cortical motor regions and on the whole brain connectivity using the functional connectivity analysis in Parkinson's disease (PD). The high-density source space EEG was acquired and analyzed in 43 PD subjects in DBS on and DBS off stimulation states (off medication) during a cognitive-motor task. Increased high gamma band (50-100 Hz) connectivity within subcortical regions and between subcortical and cortical motor regions was significantly associated with the Movement Disorders Society - Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) III improvement after DBS.

Two-parametric prescan calibration of gradient-induced sampling errors for rosette MRI.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop a simple, robust, and easy-to-use calibration procedure for correcting misalignments in rosette MRI k-space sampling, with the objective of producing images with minimal artifacts.

Methods: Quick automatic calibration scans were proposed for the beginning of the measurement to collect information on the time course of the rosette acquisition trajectory. A two-parameter model was devised to match the measured time-varying readout gradient delays and approximate the actual rosette sampling trajectory.

War and women: An analysis of Ukrainian refugee women staying in the Czech Republic.

In addition to the loss of life, Russian aggression against Ukraine, which began in February 2022, also brings interpersonal losses resulting from the need to emigrate. Parallel to the fighting men, women bear most of the burden of caring for the family. Using in-depth interviews supplemented by questions about adverse childhood experiences and administration of The Centrality of Events Scale and the PTSD Checklist - PCL-5 with 43 Ukrainian women (18-60 years old), we analyzed adaptation to the situation of emigration and the association of their war and earlier experiences with the level of traumatization.

Coupling between beta band and high frequency oscillations as a clinically useful biomarker for DBS.

Beta hypersynchrony was recently introduced into clinical practice in Parkinson's disease (PD) to identify the best stimulation contacts and for adaptive deep brain stimulation (aDBS) sensing. However, many other oscillopathies accompany the disease, and beta power sensing may not be optimal for all patients. The aim of this work was to study the potential clinical usefulness of beta power phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) with high frequency oscillations (HFOs).

Examining the association between posttraumatic stress disorder and disruptions in cortical networks identified using data-driven methods.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with lower cortical thickness (CT) in prefrontal, cingulate, and insular cortices in diverse trauma-affected samples. However, some studies have failed to detect differences between PTSD patients and healthy controls or reported that PTSD is associated with greater CT. Using data-driven dimensionality reduction, we sought to conduct a well-powered study to identify vulnerable networks without regard to neuroanatomic boundaries.

Parkinson´s disease cardiovascular symptoms: A new complex functional and structural insight.

Background: The known impairments of the cardiovascular system in Parkinson´s disease (PD) are caused by autonomic dysfunction and manifested mainly in postural hypotension, chronotropic insufficiency, and reduced heart rate variability. Other dysfunctions, mainly stress response, arrhythmia occurrence, and heart morphology changes, are still the subject of research.

Objectives: To assess the heart rate and blood pressure reaction during exercise, advanced measurements of heart volumes and mass using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), and occurrence of arrhythmias in PD patients.

Lifelong effects of prenatal and early postnatal stress on the hippocampus, amygdala, and psychological states of Holocaust survivors.

This study focuses on hippocampal and amygdala volume, seed-based connectivity, and psychological traits of Holocaust survivors who experienced stress during prenatal and early postnatal development. We investigated people who lived in Central Europe during the Holocaust and who, as Jews, were in imminent danger. The group who experienced stress during their prenatal development and early postnatal (PreP) period (n = 11) were compared with a group who experienced Holocaust-related stress later in their lives: in late childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood (ChA) (n = 21).

Twenty-five years of epilepsy surgery at a Central European comprehensive epilepsy center-Trends in intervention delay and outcomes.

Objective: We analyzed trends in patients' characteristics, outcomes, and waiting times over the last 25 years at our epilepsy surgery center situated in Central Europe to highlight possible areas of improvement in our care for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Methods: A total of 704 patients who underwent surgery at the Brno Epilepsy Center were included in the study, 71 of those were children. Patients were separated into three time periods, 1996-2000 (n = 95), 2001-2010 (n = 295) and 2011-2022 (n = 314) based on first evaluation at the center.

The effect of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease reflected in EEG microstates.

Mechanisms of deep brain stimulation (DBS) on cortical networks were explored mainly by fMRI. Advanced analysis of high-density EEG is a source of additional information and may provide clinically useful biomarkers. The presented study evaluates EEG microstates in Parkinson's disease and the effect of DBS of the subthalamic nucleus (STN).

Molecular Biomarkers of Neuronal Injury in Epilepsy Shared with Neurodegenerative Diseases.

In neurodegenerative diseases, changes in neuronal proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood are viewed as potential biomarkers of the primary pathology in the central nervous system (CNS). Recent reports suggest, however, that level of neuronal proteins in fluids also alters in several types of epilepsy in various age groups, including children. With increasing evidence supporting clinical and sub-clinical seizures in Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia, Parkinson's disease, and in other less common neurodegenerative conditions, these findings call into question the specificity of neuronal protein response to neurodegenerative process and urge analysis of the effects of concomitant epilepsy and other comorbidities.

White matter alterations in MR-negative temporal and frontal lobe epilepsy using fixel-based analysis.

This study focuses on white matter alterations in pharmacoresistant epilepsy patients with no visible lesions in the temporal and frontal lobes on clinical MRI (i.e. MR-negative) with lesions confirmed by resective surgery.

Deep brain stimulation of the anterior nuclei of the thalamus in focal epilepsy.

Objective: To review the therapeutic effects of deep brain stimulation of the anterior nuclei of the thalamus (ANT-DBS) and the predictors of its effectiveness, safety, and adverse effects.

Methods: A comprehensive search of the medical literature (PubMed) was conducted to identify relevant articles investigating ANT-DBS therapy for epilepsy. Out of 332 references, 77 focused on focal epilepsies were reviewed.

Wellbeing and national identity in three generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust survivors.

Subjective wellbeing (SWB) is an important factor of global adjustment. Intergenerational satisfaction in seriously traumatized people has not been studied so far in homogenous populations of Central and Eastern Europe. This study focuses on the SWB in three generations of survivors living in the Czech Republic and Slovakia after World War II (WWII).

Multimodal combination of neuroimaging methods for localizing the epileptogenic zone in MR-negative epilepsy.

The objective was to determine the optimal combination of multimodal imaging methods (IMs) for localizing the epileptogenic zone (EZ) in patients with MR-negative drug-resistant epilepsy. Data from 25 patients with MR-negative focal epilepsy (age 30 ± 10 years, 16M/9F) who underwent surgical resection of the EZ and from 110 healthy controls (age 31 ± 9 years; 56M/54F) were used to evaluate IMs based on 3T MRI, FDG-PET, HD-EEG, and SPECT. Patients with successful outcomes and/or positive histological findings were evaluated.

The reduction of hippocampal volume in Parkinson's disease.

The volume of the hippocampus decreases more slowly than the volume of the cortex during normal aging. We explored changes in the hippocampus-to-cortex volume (HV:CTV) ratio with increasing age in non-demented Parkinson's disease (PD) patients as compared to healthy controls (HC). We also evaluated the association between the HV:CTV ratio and cognitive outcomes.

Next-generation sequencing in children with epilepsy: The importance of precise genotype-phenotype correlation.

Aim: The primary goal was to determine the yield of next-generation sequencing (NGS) epilepsy gene panels used for epilepsy etiology diagnosing using a multidisciplinary approach and to demonstrate the importance of genotype-phenotype correlations. The secondary goal was to evaluate the application of precision medicine in selected patients.

Methods: This single-center retrospective study included a total of 175 patients (95 males and 80 females) aged 0-19 years.

Contribution of the multi-echo approach in accelerated functional magnetic resonance imaging multiband acquisition.

We wanted to verify the effect of combining multi-echo (ME) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with slice acceleration in simultaneous multi-slice acquisition. The aim was to shed light on the benefits of multiple echoes for various acquisition settings, especially for levels of slice acceleration and flip angle. Whole-brain ME fMRI data were obtained from 26 healthy volunteers (using three echoes; seven runs with slice acceleration 1, 4, 6, and 8; and two different flip angles for each of the first three acceleration factors) and processed as single-echo (SE) data and ME data based on optimal combinations weighted by the contrast-to-noise ratio.

Alterations in Sensorimotor and Mesiotemporal Cortices and Diffuse White Matter Changes in Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis Detected by Adiabatic Relaxometry.

The research of primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) has not been able to capitalize on recent progresses in advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols. The presented cross-sectional study evaluated the utility of four different MRI relaxation metrics and diffusion-weighted imaging in PPMS. Conventional free precession T1 and T2, and rotating frame adiabatic T1ρ and T2ρ in combination with diffusion-weighted parameters were acquired in 13 PPMS patients and 13 age- and sex-matched controls.

Cortical network organization reflects clinical response to subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease.

The degree of response to subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) is individual and hardly predictable. We hypothesized that DBS-related changes in cortical network organization are related to the clinical effect. Network analysis based on graph theory was used to evaluate the high-density electroencephalography (HDEEG) recorded during a visual three-stimuli paradigm in 32 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients treated by STN-DBS in stimulation "off" and "on" states.

Posttraumatic Stress and Posttraumatic Growth in Three Generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust Survivors.

The psychological consequences of trauma related to the Holocaust have been primarily studied in samples derived from Israel, North America, and Western Europe. Few studies have examined postcommunist countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The present study focused on three generations living in the Czech Republic and Slovakia after World War II (WWII): Holocaust survivors (71-95 years of age), their children (30-73 years of age), and their grandchildren (15-48 years of age).

Memory retrieval in temporal lobe epilepsy is related to functional segregation of the mesiotemporal structures.

Objective: We analyzed the impact of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) with hippocampal sclerosis (HS) on functional connectivity (FC) between mesiotemporal structures. Functional connectivity modifications related to word retrieval were investigated.

Methods: High-density EEG of 21 patients with TLE with HS (12 left TLE and 9 right TLE) and 10 healthy controls (HCs) were recorded during a verbal subsequent memory paradigm.