Publications by authors named "Kuriko Kagitani Shimono"

Objective: Although sleep habits are associated with the development of toddlers, factors affecting social development and brain function remain unclear. We aimed to elucidate the relationship between sleep habits and social development as well as brain coherence in toddlers.

Methods: We used the data set at 1.

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Article Synopsis
  • Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) patients often have significant skull thickening, which can complicate surgical procedures like craniotomy, making awareness crucial for neurosurgeons.
  • A study analyzed MRI data from TSC patients aged 10 to 60 to compare skull thickness with two control groups (patients with and without anti-seizure medications).
  • Findings revealed that TSC patients exhibited thicker frontal and temporal bones, with skull thickening linked to intracerebral calcification, indicating a potential common cause that warrants further research into genetic factors and related skeletal issues.
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Comprehension and pragmatic deficits are prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and are potentially linked to altered connectivity in the ventral language networks. However, previous magnetic resonance imaging studies have not sufficiently explored the microstructural abnormalities in the ventral fiber tracts underlying comprehension dysfunction in ASD. Additionally, the precise locations of white matter (WM) changes in the long tracts of patients with ASD remain poorly understood.

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Objective: Infant hypersensitivity affects daily challenges and parental stress. Although the crucial role of tactile sensation in infants' brain function has been highlighted, hypersensitive infants and their families lack support. Electroencephalography may be useful for understanding hypersensitivity traits.

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The Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) is a computerized and child-friendly neuropsychological assessment battery that includes subtests aimed at evaluating some aspects of executive functions. Using the CANTAB, this study aims to establish normative values based on the aspects of executive functions among school-aged children in Japan. The participants included 234 children (135 boys and 99 girls aged 6-12 years) enrolled in regular classes, without any clinical records of developmental disorders or educational support.

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Introduction: Neuroimaging studies on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have demonstrated differences in extensive brain structure, activity and network. However, there remains heterogeneity and inconsistency across these findings, presumably because of the diversity of the disorders themselves, small sample sizes, and site and parameter differences in MRI scanners, and their overall pathogenesis remains unclear. To address these gaps in the literature, we will apply the travelling-subject approach to correct site differences in MRI scanners and clarify brain structure and network characteristics of children with ADHD and ASD using large samples collected in a multi-centre collaboration.

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Study Objectives: Sleep spindles play a crucial role in multiple neuronal network functions. Initiation and termination of spindles are regulated by the thalamic reticular nucleus and thalamocortical network, and the spindle can be an index for brain organization. We conducted a preliminary study of the parameters of sleep spindles, focusing on sleep-stage temporal distribution in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with normal intelligence/developmental quotients.

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Successful surgery for drug-resistant pediatric epilepsy can facilitate motor and cognitive development and improve quality of life by resolution or reduction of epileptic seizures. Therefore, surgery should be considered early in the disease course. However, in some cases, the estimated surgical outcomes are not achieved, and additional surgical treatments are considered.

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Objective: In glucose transporter 1 deficiency syndrome (Glut1DS), cerebrospinal fluid glucose (CSFG) and CSFG to blood glucose ratio (CBGR) show significant differences among groups classified by phenotype or genotype. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between these biochemical parameters and Glut1DS severity.

Methods: The medical records of 45 patients who visited Osaka University Hospital between March 2004 and December 2021 were retrospectively examined.

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Background And Objectives: Neuroinflammation contributes to the severity of various neurological disorders, including epilepsy. Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a condition that results in the overactivation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, which has been linked to the activation of microglia responsible for neuroinflammation. To clarify the involvement of neuroinflammation in the neuropathophysiology of TSC, we performed a positron emission tomography (PET) study using the translocator protein (TSPO) radioligand, [C] DPA713, and investigated microglial activation in relation to neurological manifestations, especially epilepsy and cognitive function.

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Patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often show pervasive and complex language impairments that are closely associated with aberrant structural connectivity of language networks. However, the characteristics of white matter connectivity in ASD have remained inconclusive in previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies. The current meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively elucidate the abnormality in language-related white matter connectivity in individuals with ASD.

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Article Synopsis
  • Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is used to assess interictal spikes in patients, but current manual analysis is time-consuming and relies heavily on the skill of neurophysiologists.
  • A new AI-based method called FAMED has been developed to automate the spike identification and equivalent current dipole (ECD) estimation processes using deep learning techniques, specifically semantic segmentation.
  • FAMED has shown excellent performance metrics, achieving a mean AUC of 0.9868 and a median distance of 0.63 cm between its ECD estimates and those of neurophysiologists, indicating it can enhance the efficiency and consistency of MEG analyses.
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  • Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a genetic disorder that affects brain function, causing neurological issues like epilepsy and TAND (neuropsychiatric disorders), yet the specific brain areas involved remain unclear.
  • A study involving 19 TSC patients and 24 control subjects used advanced imaging techniques to explore white matter abnormalities and their connections to TAND symptoms.
  • Results indicated reduced white matter integrity in specific brain areas of TSC patients, with intellectual disabilities linked to widespread regions and behavioral issues related to the limbic system, suggesting that TAND arises from broader connectivity issues rather than a single brain region.
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Background: Atypical sensory behavior disrupts behavioral adaptation in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, neural correlates of sensory dysfunction using magnetoencephalography (MEG) remain unclear.

Method: We used MEG to measure the cortical activation elicited by visual (uni)/audiovisual (multisensory) movies in 46 children (7-14 years) were included in final analysis: 13 boys with atypical audiovisual behavior in ASD (AAV+), 10 without this condition, and 23 age-matched typically developing boys.

Results: The AAV+ group demonstrated an increase in the cortical activation in the bilateral insula in response to unisensory movies and in the left occipital, right superior temporal sulcus (rSTS), and temporal regions to multisensory movies.

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Background: Neuroinflammation is associated with various chronic neurological diseases, including epilepsy; however, neuroimaging approaches for visualizing neuroinflammation have not been used in the clinical routine yet. In this study, we used the translocator protein positron emission tomography (PET) with [C] DPA713 to investigate neuroinflammation in the epileptogenic zone in patients with child-onset focal epilepsy.

Methods: Patients with intractable focal epilepsy were recruited at the Epilepsy Center of Osaka University; those who were taking any immunosuppressants or steroids were excluded.

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A ketogenic diet is expected to be an effective support therapy for patients with cancer, but the degree and duration of carbohydrate restriction are unclear. We performed a case series study of a new ketogenic diet regimen in patients with different types of stage IV cancer. Carbohydrates were restricted to 10 g/day during week one, 20 g/day from week two for three months, and 30 g/day thereafter.

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) share high rates of comorbidity, with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition now acknowledging the comorbid diagnosis of ASD and ADHD. Although structural abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex, cerebellum, and basal ganglia occur in both ASD and ADHD, no structural studies have focused exclusively on patients with comorbid ASD and ADHD. We thus aimed to clarify the structural features and developmental changes in patients with comorbid ASD and ADHD in a relatively large sample from two sites.

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Background: Visual abnormality is a common sensory impairment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which may cause behavioral problems. However, only a few studies exist on the neural features corresponding to the visual symptoms in ASD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between cortical responses to visual stimuli and visual abnormality to examine the neurophysiological mechanisms of the visual abnormality in ASD.

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Objective: The purpose of the present study was to clarify the relationship between white matter tracts and cognitive symptoms in children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Methods: We examined the cognitive functions of 17 children with high-functioning ASD and 18 typically developing (TD) controls and performed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) tractography. We compared the results between the groups and investigated the correlations between the cognitive scores and DTI parameters within each group.

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The cerebellum, which forms widespread functional networks with many areas in the cerebral cortices and subcortical structures, is one of the brain regions most consistently reported to exhibit neuropathological features in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, cerebellar functional connectivity (FC) studies in patients with ASD have been very sparse. Using resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) analysis, we investigated the FC of the hemispheric/vermal subregions and the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum with the cerebral regions in 36 children and adolescents [16 participants with ASD, 20 typically developing (TD) participants, age: 6-15 years].

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Objective: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by communication deficits and social difficulties, and individuals with ASD frequently exhibit varied levels of language abilities. However, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying their language deficits remain unclear. To gain insight into the neurophysiological mechanisms of receptive language deficits, we assessed cortical activation patterns in adolescents with ASD during silent word-reading.

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