Cortical sources of resting-state EEG rhythms in "experienced" HIV subjects under antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: Treatment-naïve patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are characterized by diffuse abnormalities of resting-state cortical electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms (Babiloni et al., 2012a). Here, we tested the hypothesis that these EEG rhythms vary as a function of the systemic immune activity and antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV patients.

Mechanisms of cortical neural synchronization related to healthy and impaired consciousness: evidence by quantitative electroencephalographic studies.

In this paper, we review the contribution of our research group to the study of human consciousness by quantitative electroencephalographic (EEG) techniques. We posit that EEG techniques can be extremely useful for a direct measurement of brain electrophysiological activity related to human consciousness for their unsurpassable high temporal resolution (milliseconds). This activity can be expressed in terms of event-related potentials as well as changes of EEG rhythms of interest, for example the dominant alpha rhythms (about 8-12 Hz).

Cortical sources of resting-state EEG rhythms are abnormal in naïve HIV subjects.

Objective: The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that cortical sources of resting-state electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms show peculiar frequency/spatial features in naïve human subjects with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) compared to healthy control subjects.

Methods: Resting-state eyes-closed EEG data were recorded in 18 naïve HIV subjects (15 males; mean age 39 years±2.0 standard error of mean, SEM) and in 18 age-matched cognitively normal subjects (15 males; 38.

Inter-hemispherical functional coupling of EEG rhythms during the perception of facial emotional expressions.

Objective: Brain rhythms of both hemispheres are involved in the processing of emotional stimuli but their interdependence between the two hemispheres is poorly known. Here we tested the hypothesis that passive visual perception of facial emotional expressions is related to a coordination of the two hemispheres as revealed by the inter-hemispherical functional coupling of brain electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms.

Methods: To this aim, EEG data were recorded in 14 subjects observing emotional faces with neutral, happy or sad facial expressions (about 33% for each class).

Cortical sources of EEG rhythms in congestive heart failure and Alzheimer's disease.

Introduction: The brain needs continuous oxygen supply even in resting-state. Hypoxia enhances resting-state electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms in the delta range, and reduces those in the alpha range, with a pattern similar to that observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here we tested whether resting-state cortical EEG rhythms in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), as a model of acute hypoxia, present frequency similarities with AD patients, comparable by cognitive status revealed by the mini mental state examination (MMSE).

Cortical sources of resting state EEG rhythms are abnormal in dyslexic children.

Objective: Previous studies have been inconclusive whether dominant resting state alpha rhythms differ in amplitude in dyslexic subjects when compared to control subjects, being these rhythms considered as a reflection of effective cortical neural synchronization and cognition. Here we used a validated EEG source estimation to test the hypothesis that resting state alpha rhythms are abnormal in dyslexic subjects and are related to reading deficits.

Methods: Eyes-closed resting state electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded in 26 dyslexics (12 males, mean age of 11 years ± 0.

Mobile phone emission increases inter-hemispheric functional coupling of electroencephalographic α rhythms in epileptic patients.

It has been reported that GSM electromagnetic fields (GSM-EMFs) of mobile phones modulate - after a prolonged exposure - inter-hemispheric synchronization of temporal and frontal resting electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms in normal young and elderly subjects (Vecchio et al., 2007, 2010). Here we tested the hypothesis that this can be even more evident in epileptic patients, who typically suffer from abnormal mechanisms governing synchronization of rhythmic firing of cortical neurons.

Brains "in concert": frontal oscillatory alpha rhythms and empathy in professional musicians.

Playing music in ensemble represents a unique human condition/performance where musicians should rely on empathic relationships. Recent theories attribute to frontal Brodmann areas (BAs) 44/45 and 10/11 a neural basis for "emotional" and "cognitive" empathy. We hypothesized that activity of these structures reflects empathy trait in professional musicians playing in ensemble.

Cortical sources of resting state electroencephalographic rhythms in Parkinson's disease related dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: Here we test the hypothesis that cortical source mapping of resting state electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms could characterize neurodegenerative disorders inducing cognitive impairment such as Parkinson's disease related dementia (PDD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: To address this issue, eyes-closed resting state EEG rhythms were recorded in 13 PDD, 20 AD, and 20 normal elderly (Nold) subjects. Age, gender, and education were carefully matched across the three groups.

Mobile phone emission modulates event-related desynchronization of α rhythms and cognitive-motor performance in healthy humans.

Objectives: It has been shown that electromagnetic fields of Global System for Mobile Communications phone (GSM-EMFs) affect human brain rhythms (Vecchio et al., 2007, 2010), but it is not yet clear whether these effects are related to alterations of cognitive functions.

Methods: Eleven healthy adults underwent two electroencephalographic (EEG) sessions separated by 1 week, following a cross-over, placebo-controlled, double-blind paradigm.

Simultaneous recording of electroencephalographic data in musicians playing in ensemble.

Here we describe a methodological approach for the simultaneous electroencephalographic (EEG) recording in musicians playing in ensemble. Four professional saxophonists wore pre-wired EEG caps (30 electrodes placed according to an augmented 10-20 system; cephalic reference and ground). Each cap was connected to a single multi-channel amplifier box [Brain Explorer (BE), EB-Neuro(©)].

Resting state eyes-closed cortical rhythms in patients with locked-in-syndrome: an EEG study.

Objective: Locked-in syndrome (LIS) is a state of complete paralysis, except for ocular movements, which results from ventral brainstem lesions. Patients typically are fully conscious. Here we tested the hypothesis that electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms are abnormal in LIS patients, possibly due to an impaired neural synchronization between brainstem and cerebral cortex.

Cortical sources of EEG rhythms are abnormal in down syndrome.

Objective: Previous studies have been inconclusive whether dominant resting state alpha rhythms are greater or lower in amplitude in subjects with Down syndrome (DS) when compared to control subjects, ample resting alpha rhythms being considered as a reflection of good mechanisms of cortical neural synchronization. Here we tested the hypothesis that when the effects of head volume conduction are taken into account by the normalization of the cortical sources of resting alpha rhythms, these sources are lower in amplitude in DS subjects than in controls in line with typical findings in Alzheimer's disease patients.

Methods: Eyes-closed resting electroencephalographic (EEG) data were recorded in 45 DS subjects (25 males; mean age of 22.

Activity of hippocampal, amygdala, and neocortex during the Rey auditory verbal learning test: an event-related potential study in epileptic patients.

Objective: Previous evidence in epileptic subjects has shown that theta (about 4-7Hz) and gamma rhythms (about 40-45Hz) of hippocampus, amygdala, and neocortex were temporally synchronized during the listening of repeated words successfully remembered (Babiloni et al., 2009). Here we re-analyzed those electroencephalographic (EEG) data to test whether a parallel increase in amplitude of late positive event-related potentials takes place.

Cortical responses to consciousness of schematic emotional facial expressions: a high-resolution EEG study.

Is conscious perception of emotional face expression related to enhanced cortical responses? Electroencephalographic data (112 channels) were recorded in 15 normal adults during the presentation of cue stimuli with neutral, happy or sad schematic faces (duration: "threshold time" inducing about 50% of correct recognitions), masking stimuli (2 s), and go stimuli with happy or sad schematic faces (0.5 s). The subjects clicked left (right) mouse button in response to go stimuli with happy (sad) faces.

Mobile phone emission modulates inter-hemispheric functional coupling of EEG alpha rhythms in elderly compared to young subjects.

Objective: It has been reported that GSM electromagnetic fields (GSM-EMFs) of mobile phones modulate--after a prolonged exposure--inter-hemispheric synchronization of temporal and frontal resting electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms in normal young subjects [Vecchio et al., 2007]. Here we tested the hypothesis that this effect can vary on physiological aging as a sign of changes in the functional organization of cortical neural synchronization.

Resting state cortical rhythms in athletes: a high-resolution EEG study.

The present electroencephalographic (EEG) study tested the working hypothesis that the amplitude of resting state cortical EEG rhythms (especially alpha, 8-12 Hz) was higher in elite athletes compared with amateur athletes and non-athletes, as a reflection of the efficiency of underlying back-ground neural synchronization mechanisms. Eyes closed resting state EEG data were recorded in 16 elite karate athletes, 20 amateur karate athletes, and 25 non-athletes. The EEG rhythms of interest were delta (2-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha 1 (8-10.

Inter-hemispheric functional coupling of eyes-closed resting EEG rhythms in adolescents with Down syndrome.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that inter-hemispheric directional functional coupling of eyes-closed resting EEG rhythms is abnormal in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS).

Methods: Eyes-closed resting EEG data were recorded in 38 DS adolescents (18.7 years +/-0.

Cortical sources of resting-state alpha rhythms are abnormal in persistent vegetative state patients.

Objective: High power of pre-stimulus cortical alpha rhythms (about 8-12 Hz) underlies conscious perception in normal subjects. Here we tested the hypothesis that these rhythms are abnormal in persistent vegetative state (PVS) patients, who are awake but not aware of self and environment.

Methods: Clinical and resting-state, eyes-closed electroencephalographic (EEG) data were taken from a clinical archive.

Hippocampal, amygdala, and neocortical synchronization of theta rhythms is related to an immediate recall during rey auditory verbal learning test.

It is well known that theta rhythms (3-8 Hz) are the fingerprint of hippocampus, and that neural activity accompanying encoding of words differs according to whether the items are later remembered or forgotten ["subsequent memory effect" (SME)]. Here, we tested the hypothesis that temporal synchronization of theta rhythms among hippocampus, amygdala, and neocortex is related to immediate memorization of repeated words. To address this issue, intracerebral electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was recorded in five subjects with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), under presurgical monitoring routine.

Cortical sources of visual evoked potentials during consciousness of executive processes.

What is the timing of cortical activation related to consciousness of visuo-spatial executive functions? Electroencephalographic data (128 channels) were recorded in 13 adults. Cue stimulus briefly appeared on right or left (equal probability) monitor side for a period, inducing about 50% of recognitions. It was then masked and followed (2 s) by a central visual go stimulus.