Exploring Aesthetic Perception in Impaired Aging: A Multimodal Brain-Computer Interface Study.

In the field of neuroscience, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are used to connect the human brain with external devices, providing insights into the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes, including aesthetic perception. Non-invasive BCIs, such as EEG and fNIRS, are critical for studying central nervous system activity and understanding how individuals with cognitive deficits process and respond to aesthetic stimuli. This study assessed twenty participants who were divided into control and impaired aging (AI) groups based on MMSE scores.

Auditory mismatch negativity in pre-manifest and manifest Huntington's disease.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of the electrophysiological brain response elicited in a passive acoustic oddball paradigm, i.e. mismatch negativity (MMN), in patients with Huntington's disease (HD) in the premanifest (pHD) and manifest (mHD) phases.

Effects of movement congruence on motor resonance in early Parkinson's disease.

The observation of action seems to involve the generation of the internal representation of that same action in the observer, a process named motor resonance (MR). The objective of this study was to verify whether an experimental paradigm of action observation in a laboratory context could elicit cortical motor activation in 21 early Parkinson's disease (PD) patients compared to 22 controls. Participants were instructed to simply observe (observation-only session) or to respond (Time-to-contact detection session) at the instant the agent performed a grasping action toward a graspable or ungraspable object.

Galcanezumab treatment changes visual related EEG connectivity patterns in migraine patients.

Background: Monoclonal antibodies against calcitonin gene-related peptides (CGRP) are innovative therapies for migraine treatment. Although they are clinically effective, how anti-CGRP treatment reduces migraine attacks still remains unclear.

Objective: In this observational case-control study, we aimed to apply graph theory to EEG data from 20 migraine patients and 10 controls to investigate the effects of 3 months of galcanezumab on brain connectivity.

Assessment of C Fibers Evoked Potentials in Healthy Subjects by Nd : YAP Laser.

Introduction: Although laser stimuli activate both Ad- and C-fibres, the corresponding laser evoked potentials (LEPs) remain restricted to the Ad-fibers input, while the C-fibers related potential is hardly detectable.

Aims: To evaluate multichannel ultralate LEPs (U-LEPs) by using Nd : Yap laser pulses in healthy volunteers to stimulation of face and lower and upper limbs, in order to estimate the reliability of C-LEPs elicited from both trigeminal and somatic sites.

Methods: Twenty healthy volunteers participated in two stimulation sessions to record A-LEPs and C-LEPs.

Effect of Single Session of Anodal M1 Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation-TDCS-On Cortical Hemodynamic Activity: A Pilot Study in Fibromyalgia.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) on the primary motor cortex (M1) has been reported to be effective in fibromyalgia (FM). Our previous works have shown hypometabolism of motor networks in FM using Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), which could contribute to pain symptoms. To investigate if a single Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS) session can restore the reduced metabolism expected in FM patients, we compared metabolic activity in FM patients and controls during a finger-tapping task in basal condition, sham condition, and under anodal TDCS on M1.

Central effects of galcanezumab in migraine: a pilot study on Steady State Visual Evoked Potentials and occipital hemodynamic response in migraine patients.

Background: The discovery of the prominent action of Calcitonin Gene Related Peptide -CGRP- on trigeminal afferents and meningeal vessels, opened a new era in migraine treatment. However, how the block of nociceptive afferents could act on central mechanisms of migraine is still not clear. In this pilot study we aimed to test the effect of 3 months Galcanezumab (CGA) therapy on occipital visual reactivity in migraine patients, using the Steady State Visual Evoked Potentials-SSVEPs and Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy -fNIRS.

Movement observation activates motor cortex in fibromyalgia patients: a fNIRS study.

Scientific evidence points to a shared neural representation between performing and observing an action. The action observation notoriously determines a modulation of the observer's sensorimotor system, a phenomenon called Motor Resonance (MR). Fibromyalgia (FM) patients suffer from a condition characterized by generalized musculoskeletal pain in which even simple movement can exacerbate their symptoms.

Laser evoked potentials in fibromyalgia with peripheral small fiber involvement.

Objective: To evaluate multichannel laser evoked potentials (LEPs) in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and small fiber impairment.

Methods: We recorded LEPs using 65 electrodes in 22 patients with FM and proximal denervation, 18 with normal skin biopsy, and 7 with proximal and distal intraepidermal nerve fiber density (IENFD) reduction. We considered the amplitude and topographical distribution of N1, N2 and P2 components, and habituation of N2 and P2 waves.

Magnetoencephalography and High-Density Electroencephalography Study of Acoustic Event Related Potentials in Early Stage of Multiple Sclerosis: A Pilot Study on Cognitive Impairment and Fatigue.

Cognitive impairment (CI) is a common and disabling symptom of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with a negative impact on daily living. In this pilot study, we applied magnetoencephalography (MEG) and high density (hd) electroencephalography (EEG) study to evaluate acoustic P300 features in a cohort of early MS. Sixteen MS patients (pwMS) and 19 healthy controls (HCs) matched for age and gender underwent an MEG-/(hd)-EEG-co-recording, using 306-channel Vectorview and 64 scalp electrodes.

Effect of single dose Erenumab on cortical responses evoked by cutaneous a-delta fibers: A pilot study in migraine patients.

Background: Erenumab is a monoclonal antibody against calcitonin gene-related peptide receptors, which showed efficacy in migraine attack prevention. The aims of the present pilot study were to i) evaluate the effect of single dose of Erenumab 70 mg on laser evoked potentials from trigeminal and brachial stimulation in a cohort of migraine patients; ii) correlate the neurophysiological changes with clinical outcome after 3 months' treatment.

Methods: Laser evoked potentials were recorded by 61 electroencephalogram channels before (T0), 1 h (T1) and 7 days after (T2) Erenumab 70 mg injection, stimulating the left and right forehead and the right hand.

EEG Functional Connectivity and Cognitive Variables in Premanifest and Manifest Huntington's Disease: EEG Low-Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) Study.

Background: Scientific literature does not offer sufficient data on electroencephalography (EEG) functional connectivity and its correlations with clinical and cognitive features in premanifest and manifest HD.

Aim: This study tries to identify abnormal EEG patterns of functional connectivity, in conditions of "brain resting state" and correlations with motor decline and cognitive variable in Huntington's disease (HD), in premanifest and manifest phase, looking for a reliable marker measuring disease progression.

Method: This was an observational cross-sectional study; 105 subjects with age ≥18 years submitted to HD genetic test.

Dynamic Causal Modelling of the Reduced Habituation to Painful Stimuli in Migraine: An EEG Study.

A consistent finding in migraine is reduced cortical habituation to repetitive sensory stimuli. This study investigated brain dynamics underlying the atypical habituation to painful stimuli in interictal migraine. We investigated modulations in effective connectivity between the sources of laser evoked potentials (LEPs) from a first to final block of trigeminal LEPs using dynamic causal modelling (DCM) in a group of 23 migraine patients and 20 controls.

The effect of painful laser stimuli on EEG gamma-band activity in migraine patients and healthy controls.

Objective: Gamma-band oscillations (GBOs) induced by nociceptive stimuli were compared between migraine patients and controls in order to further characterize interictal pain processing in the brain of migraineurs. GBOs were related to subjective pain intensity, years of migraine history and migraine attack frequency and the sources of GBOs were investigated.

Methods: Twenty-three migraine patients without aura and 23 controls received a series of laser stimulations on their right forehead and right hand while recording electroencephalographic data (61 electrodes).

Peripheral and central nervous system correlates in fibromyalgia.

Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a syndrome characterized by altered pain processing at central and peripheral level, whose pathophysiologic mechanisms remain obscure. We aimed at exploring the structural changes of peripheral nociceptor measured by skin biopsy, the functional changes of central nociceptive pathway assessed by laser-evoked potentials (LEP), and their correlation with clinical features and comorbidities.

Methods: In all, 81 patients diagnosed with FM underwent skin biopsies with quantification of intraepidermal nerve fibre density (IENFD) at the thigh and distal leg, and LEP recording by stimulating hand, thigh and foot.

A Simple Pattern of Movement is not Able to Inhibit Experimental Pain in FM Patients and Controls: an sLORETA Study.

Motor cortex activation seems to induce an analgesic effect on pain that would be different between patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and control subjects. This study was conducted to analyze the changes of the laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) induced during a finger tapping task in the FM patients and the controls employing a multi-dipolar analysis according to Standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) method. The LEPs from 38 FM patients and 21 controls were analyzed.

Mutual interaction between motor cortex activation and pain in fibromyalgia: EEG-fNIRS study.

Background: Experimental and clinical studies suggested an analgesic effect on chronic pain by motor cortex activation. The present study explored the complex mechanisms of interaction between motor and pain during performing the slow and fast finger tapping task alone and in concomitant with nociceptive laser stimulation.

Method: The participants were 38 patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and 21 healthy subjects.

Empathy for pain in fibromyalgia patients: An EEG study.

Background: Recent research in cognitive neurosciences highlights how the neural circuitries are activated during pain responses in empathic context.

Aims: The present study was designed to test if healthy subjects and Fibromyalgia (FM) patients, both evaluated by Laser Evoked Potentials (LEPs) and Event-Related Spectral Perturbation (ERSP), might reveal the empathic response to the partner's nociceptive stimulation.

Methods: The emphatic nociceptive paradigm was recorded through 64 channels EEG and laser stimulation of the right hand in a shared visual open setting (Open Condition) or in a blind setting (Blind condition) where the subjects didn't receive visual information about partner nociceptive condition.

Motor Cortex Function in Fibromyalgia: A Study by Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.

Previous studies indicated changes of motor cortex excitability in fibromyalgia (FM) patients and the positive results of transcranial stimulation techniques. The present study aimed to explore the metabolism of motor cortex in FM patients, in resting state and during slow and fast finger tapping, using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), an optical method which detects in real time the metabolism changes in the cortical tissue. We studied 24 FM patients and 24 healthy subjects.

Effect of Non-invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Resting-State Electroencephalography and Laser-Evoked Potentials in Migraine Patients: Mechanistic Insights.

A recent multicenter trial provided Class I evidence that for patients with an episodic migraine, non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) significantly increases the probability of having mild pain or being pain-free 2 h post-stimulation. Here we aimed to investigate the potential effect of nVNS in the modulation of spontaneous and pain related bioelectrical activity in a subgroup of migraine patients enrolled in the PRESTO trial by using resting-state electroencephalography and trigeminal laser-evoked potentials (LEPs). LEPs were recorded for 27 migraine patients who received active or sham nVNS over the cervical vagus nerve.

Pain Processing and Vegetative Dysfunction in Fibromyalgia: A Study by Sympathetic Skin Response and Laser Evoked Potentials.

Background: A dysfunction of pain processing at central and peripheral levels was reported in fibromyalgia (FM). We aimed to correlate laser evoked potentials (LEPs), Sympathetic Skin Response (SSR), and clinical features in FM patients.

Methods: Fifty FM patients and 30 age-matched controls underwent LEPs and SSR by the right hand and foot.

Brain networking analysis in migraine with and without aura.

Background: To apply effective connectivity by means of nonlinear Granger Causality (GC) and brain networking analysis to basal EEG and under visual stimulation by checkerboard gratings with 0.5 and 2.0 cpd as spatial frequency in migraine with aura (MA) and without aura (MO), and to compare these findings with Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal changes.

Effects of external trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) on laser evoked cortical potentials (LEP): A pilot study in migraine patients and controls.

Background Transcutaneous external supraorbital nerve stimulation has emerged as a treatment option for primary headache disorders, though its action mechanism is still unclear. Study aim In this randomized, sham-controlled pilot study we aimed to test the effects of a single external transcutaneous nerve stimulation session on pain perception and cortical responses induced by painful laser stimuli delivered to the right forehead and the right hand in a cohort of migraine without aura patients and healthy controls. Methods Seventeen migraine without aura patients and 21 age- and sex-matched controls were selected and randomly assigned to a real or sham external transcutaneous nerve stimulation single stimulation session.

Walking-Related Dual-Task Interference in Early-to-Middle-Stage Huntington's Disease: An Auditory Event Related Potential Study.

To compare interference between walking and a simple P3 auditory odd-ball paradigm in patients with Huntington's disease (HD) and age- and sex-matched controls. Twenty-four early-to-middle-stage HD patients and 14 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were examined. EEG-EMG recordings were obtained from 21 scalp electrodes and eight bipolar derivations from the legs.