Continuous Instrument Tracking in a Cerebral Corticectomy Ex Vivo Calf Brain Simulation Model: Face and Content Validation.

Background And Objectives: Subpial corticectomy involving complete lesion resection while preserving pial membranes and avoiding injury to adjacent normal tissues is an essential bimanual task necessary for neurosurgical trainees to master. We sought to develop an ex vivo calf brain corticectomy simulation model with continuous assessment of surgical instrument movement during the simulation. A case series study of skilled participants was performed to assess face and content validity to gain insights into the utility of this training platform, along with determining if skilled and less skilled participants had statistical differences in validity assessment.

Toward Estimating MRI-Ultrasound Registration Error in Image-Guided Neurosurgery.

Image-guided neurosurgery allows surgeons to view their tools in relation to preoperatively acquired patient images and models. To continue using neuronavigation systems throughout operations, image registration between preoperative images [typically magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)] and intraoperative images (e.g.

DNA hypomethylation of MB-COMT promoter in the DNA derived from saliva in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The failure in the discovery of etiology of psychiatric diseases, despite extensive genetic studies, has directed the attention of neuroscientists to the contribution of epigenetic modulations, which play important roles in fine-tuning of gene expression in response to environmental factors. Previously, we analyzed 115 human post-mortem brain samples from the frontal lobe and reported DNA hypo methylation of the membrane-bound catechol-O-methyltransferase (MB-COMT) gene promoter, associated with an increased gene expression, as a risk factor for schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD). Since most epigenetic modifications are tissue specific and the availability of brain tissue to identify epigenetic aberrations in living subjects is limited, detection of epigenetic abnormalities in other tissues that represent the brain epigenetic marks is one of the critical steps to develop diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers for mental diseases.

Hypomethylation of the serotonin receptor type-2A Gene (HTR2A) at T102C polymorphic site in DNA derived from the saliva of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Several lines of evidence indicate that dysfunction of serotonin signaling and HTR2A receptor are involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD). DNA methylation of HTR2A at T102C polymorphic site influences HTR2A expression and aberrant DNA methylation of HTR2A promoter was reported in postmortem brain of patients with SCZ and BD. Hypothesizing that the brain's epigenetic alteration of HTR2A may also exist in peripheral tissues that can be used as a diagnostic/therapeutic biomarker, we analyzed HTR2A promoter DNA methylation in DNA extracted from the saliva of patients with SCZ and BD, and their first degree relatives versus normal controls.