Exploring foreign language anxiety and resting-state EEG alpha asymmetry.

Anxiety experienced when interacting in a foreign language hinders communication through detrimental behavioral, cognitive, and somatic effects. Despite its impact, there is limited research on how neural asymmetry relates to foreign language anxiety (FLA). While researchers have investigated FLA through brain imaging, there remains an absence of studies examining its correlation with frontal alpha asymmetry.

Brain computed tomography reading of stroke patients by resident doctors from different medical specialities: An eye-tracking study.

Background: Using the eye-tracking technique, our work aimed to examine whether difference in clinical background may affect the training outcome of resident doctors' interpretation skills and reading behaviour related to brain computed tomography (CT).

Methods: Twelve resident doctors in the neurology, radiology, and emergency departments were recruited. Each participant had to read CT images of the brain for two cases.

Cortical excitability in patients with REM sleep behavior disorder with abnormal TRODAT-1 SPECT scan: an insight into prodromal Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) has been highlighted to identify a patient with prodromal Parkinson's disease (PD). Although many studies focus on biomarkers to predict an RBD patient's evolution from prodromal PD to clinical PD, the neurophysiological perturbation of cortical excitability has not yet been well elucidated. Moreover, no study describes the difference between RBD with and without abnormal TRODAT-1 SPECT.

5-day multi-session intermittent theta burst stimulation over bilateral posterior superior temporal sulci in adults with autism-a pilot study.

Background: Theta burst stimulation (TBS), a patterned repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocol with shorter simulation duration and lower stimulus intensity, could be a better protocol for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our study aimed to explore the impacts of intermittent TBS (iTBS) over the bilateral posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) on intellectually able adults with ASD.

Methods: In this randomized, single-blinded, sham-controlled crossover trial, 13 adults with ASD completed iTBS for 5 consecutive days over the bilateral pSTS and inion (as a sham control) in a 16-weeks interval and in a randomly assigned order.

The severity progression of non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease: a 6-year longitudinal study in Taiwanese patients.

Nonmotor symptoms (NMSs) cause major burden in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous NMSs progression studies mostly focused on the prevalence. We conducted a longitudinal study to identify the progression pattern by the severity.

Nonmotor symptoms of 820 Taiwanese patients with Parkinson's disease: an exploratory-comparative study.

Introduction: Nonmotor symptoms (NMSs) severely affect the daily quality of life of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Although many studies have documented the clinical characteristics of NMSs in PD patients, some issues remain unaddressed. The severity and gender distribution of NMSs in Asian and the Western patients differ.

Sleep disturbances in Taiwanese patients with Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Sleep disturbance is a common nonmotor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD) and strongly affects patients' quality of life. The relationship between excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and nighttime problems remains uncertain. Arguments persist regarding the risk factors for sleep disturbance among patients with PD.

The Impact of Single Session Intermittent Theta-Burst Stimulation over the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex and Posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus on Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS), a patterned repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, was applied over the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) or dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to explore its impact in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Among 25 adults with ASD, 19 (mean age: 20.8 years) completed the randomized, sham-controlled, crossover trial.

Increased Rab35 expression is a potential biomarker and implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second common neurodegenerative disease. Identification of biomarkers for early diagnosis and prediction of disease progression is important. The present comparative proteomic study of serum samples using two-dimensional fluorescence differential gel electrophoresis followed by ELISA confirmation demonstrated that protein expression of Rab35 was increased in PD patients compared with matched control subjects and other parkinsonian disorders, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and multiple system atrophy (MSA).

Genetic variants of SNCA and LRRK2 genes are associated with sporadic PD susceptibility: a replication study in a Taiwanese cohort.

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most prevalent age-related neurodegenerative diseases and usually refers to a complex disorder with multiple genetic and environmental factors influencing disease risk. We here performed a gene-based case-control association study to scrutinize whether genetic variants in SNCA and LRRK2 genes could predispose to sporadic, late-onset form of PD in Taiwanese population.

Methods: 17 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) markers located within SNCA gene as well as the 16 SNP markers within LRRK2 gene were chosen for genotyping and evaluated their haplotype structure in a cohort of sporadic PD patients and control individuals.

Visual selection and the human frontal eye fields: effects of frontal transcranial magnetic stimulation on partial report analyzed by Bundesen's theory of visual attention.

While the frontal eye fields (FEF) are traditionally associated with eye movements, recent work indicates possible roles in controlling selective visual processing. We applied 10 Hz bursts of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over left or right human FEF while subjects performed a partial-report task that allowed quantitative estimates of top-down control and other parameters affecting visual performance. Participants selectively reported digits in a relevant color (targets) but not those in an irrelevant color (nontargets) from a brief masked display.

Asymmetric involvement in sporadic creutzfeldt-jakob disease: clinical, brain imaging, and electroencephalographic studies.

Objective: To ascertain the characteristics of patients with sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and to determine the findings of electroencephalography (EEG) and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods: We pooled patients at a hospital from 2000 to 2008, and classified them according to WHO diagnostic criteria as having probable or possible CJD. We retrospectively analyzed their clinical manifestations, brain MRI, and EEG findings to evaluate correlations among them.

The effect of continuous theta burst stimulation over premotor cortex on circuits in primary motor cortex and spinal cord.

Objective: To understand the effect of continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) given to the premotor area, we studied the circuits within the primary motor cortex and spinal cord after cTBS over the dorsal premotor area (PMd).

Methods: Three sets of parameters, including corticospinal excitability, short interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF) and forearm reciprocal inhibition (RI) were tested.

Results: Paralleling the effects of cTBS applied directly to the primary motor cortex, cTBS over the left PMd suppressed corticospinal excitability as measured by the change in the size of MEPs evoked by single pulse TMS over primary motor cortex.

Agenesis of the corpus callosum in Turner's syndrome: report of a case and review of the literature.

Turner's syndrome (TS) is a genetic disorder caused by loss of entire or a substantial part of the X-chromosome, but association with central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities is rarely reported. A 32-year-old female with TS was found to have agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC) and various clinical features including coarctation of aorta, hypertelorism, small jaw, short and webbed neck, cubitus valgus, and absence of the uterus. Karyotype analysis revealed X monosomy cell line (45, X).

Visual selection and posterior parietal cortex: effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on partial report analyzed by Bundesen's theory of visual attention.

Posterior parietal cortex (PPC) may contribute to visual selection by exerting top-down influences on visual processing. To seek direct evidence for this, we used 10 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over right or left PPC in nine healthy volunteers during a partial (selective) report task that allows quantitative assessment of top-down control and other parameters. Participants reported digits in a relevant color ("targets") but not those in an irrelevant color ("nontargets") from a brief masked display, in which a target could appear alone or together with an accompanying item (nontarget or target) in the same or opposite hemifield.