Impact of Automation Level of Dairy Farms in Northern and Central Germany on Dairy Cattle Welfare.

An increasing number of automation technologies for dairy cattle farming, including automatic milking, feeding, manure removal and bedding, are now commercially available. The effects of these technologies on individual aspects of animal welfare have already been explored to some extent. However, as of now, there are no studies that analyze the impact of increasing farm automation through various combinations of these technologies.

Electrophysiological markers of memory consolidation in the human brain when memories are reactivated during sleep.

Human accomplishments depend on learning, and effective learning depends on consolidation. Consolidation is the process whereby new memories are gradually stored in an enduring way in the brain so that they can be available when needed. For factual or event knowledge, consolidation is thought to progress during sleep as well as during waking states and to be mediated by interactions between hippocampal and neocortical networks.

Laser interstitial thermal therapy for NPRL3-related epilepsy with multiple seizure foci: A case report.

NPRL3 gene mutations cause autosomal dominant familial focal epilepsy of variable foci (FFEVF) and is characterized by focal epilepsy arising from different brain regions including temporal, frontal, parietal and occipital lobes. About 50% of patients with NPRL3 related epilepsy are resistant to medical treatment. Method: We present a case of 27 years old man with NPRL3 related focal drug-resistant epilepsy.

Surgical Outcomes and EEG Prognostic Factors After Stereotactic Laser Amygdalohippocampectomy for Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.

To assess the seizure outcomes of stereotactic laser amygdalohippocampectomy (SLAH) in consecutive patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) in a single center and identify scalp EEG and imaging factors in the presurgical evaluation that correlate with post-surgical seizure recurrence. We retrospectively reviewed the medical and EEG records of 30 patients with drug-resistant mTLE who underwent SLAH and had at least 1 year of follow-up. Surgical outcomes were classified using the Engel scale.

Manifestation of Hippocampal Interictal Discharges on Clinical Scalp EEG Recordings.

Purpose: Epileptiform activity limited to deep sources such as the hippocampus currently lacks reliable scalp correlates. Recent studies, however, have found that a subset of hippocampal interictal discharges may be associated with visible scalp signals, suggesting that some types of hippocampal activity may be monitored noninvasively. The purpose of this study is to characterize the relationship between these scalp waveforms and the underlying intracranial activity.

Rapid development of seizures and PRES in a COVID-19 patient.

Neurological dysfunction has been noted in up to 36% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, and a variety of mechanisms of neurological injury are possible. Here we report the rapid development of PRES and acute seizures in a patient with COVID-19 infection and sickle cell disease. The combination of COVID and sickle cell disease may raise the risk of PRES and could contribute to the higher mortality rate of COVID in patients with sickle cell disease.

Chasing language through the brain: Successive parallel networks.

Objective: To describe the spatio-temporal dynamics and interactions during linguistic and memory tasks.

Methods: Event-related electrocorticographic (ECoG) spectral patterns obtained during cognitive tasks from 26 epilepsy patients (aged: 9-60 y) were analyzed in order to examine the spatio-temporal patterns of activation of cortical language areas. ECoGs (1024 Hz/channel) were recorded from 1567 subdural electrodes and 510 depth electrodes chronically implanted over or within the frontal, parietal, occipital and/or temporal lobes as part of their surgical work-up for intractable seizures.

The clinical significance of small sharp spikes: A retrospective study of 909 patients in epilepsy monitoring unit.

Objectives: To determine the incidence and clinical significance of small sharp spikes (SSS) in the patient population of the adult Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU).

Methods: This is a retrospective study of EEG data and medical records from consecutive patients who underwent video-EEG recording in the adult EMU from March 2013 to February 2019. SSS, interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs), and ictal patterns were identified.

RTTBD-like activity in association with hippocampal ictal discharges in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.

To determine clinical and intracranial EEG correlates of rhythmic temporal theta bursts of drowsiness (RTTBD) and assess its clinical significance in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). A retrospective review of simultaneous scalp and intracranial video-EEG recordings from 28 patients with TLE was evaluated for epilepsy surgery. Scalp RTTBD patterns were identified and their clinical and intracranial EEG correlates were then determined on video-EEG recording using depth and subdural electrodes.

Stereotactic laser anterior corpus callosotomy for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

Objective: Corpus callosotomy is an effective palliative treatment for drug-resistant Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS). Laser interstitial thermal therapy has been increasingly used in the treatment of epilepsy. Here, we assess the safety and effectiveness of minimally invasive stereotactic laser anterior corpus callosotomy (SLACC) for drop attacks in LGS.

Stereotactic laser interstitial thermal therapy for epilepsy associated with solitary and multiple cerebral cavernous malformations.

Objective: The authors sought to perform a preliminary assessment of the safety and effectiveness of stereotactic laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) for patients with cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM)-related epilepsy.

Methods: The authors retrospectively analyzed 6 patients with CCM-related epilepsy who underwent LITT. Pre-, intra-, and postoperative brain MRI studies were used to characterize preoperative CCM volume, ablation volume, and postablation hemosiderin volume.

Clinical implications of scalp ictal EEG pattern in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Objective: To determine the clinical implications of scalp ictal EEG pattern in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).

Methods: Scalp EEG ictal patterns were retrospectively determined in 27 consecutive patients with medically refractory temporal lobe epilepsy who underwent phase-1 scalp video-EEG and phase-2 simultaneous scalp and intracranial video-EEG recordings for pre-surgical evaluation.

Results: Of the 192 temporal lobe seizures recorded during phase-1 and phase-2 scalp video-EEG studies, 124 (65%) seizures were associated with theta/alpha (5-9 Hz) ictal onset pattern, and 68 (35%) seizures were associated with delta (2-5 Hz) ictal onset pattern.

DC shifts, high frequency oscillations, ripples and fast ripples in relation to the seizure onset zone.

Efforts to improve epilepsy surgery outcomes have led to increased interest in the study of electroencephalographic oscillations outside the conventional EEG bands. These include fast activity above the gamma band, known as high frequency oscillations (HFOs), and infraslow activity (ISA) below the delta band, sometimes referred to as direct current (DC) or ictal baseline shifts (IBS). HFOs in particular have been extensively studied as potential biomarkers for epileptogenic tissue in light of evidence showing that resection of brain tissue containing HFOs is associated with good surgical outcomes.

The first-hour-of-the-day sleep EEG reliably identifies interictal epileptiform discharges during long-term video-EEG monitoring.

Purpose: To determine the usefulness of the first-hour sleep EEG recording in identifying interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) during long-term video-EEG monitoring.

Method: We retrospectively reviewed 255 consecutive patients who underwent continuous long-term video-EEG monitoring in the adult epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) at the University of Chicago. The complete video-EEG recording was reviewed, and the occurrence of IEDs was determined for each patient.

Small sharp spikes as EEG markers of mesiotemporal lobe epilepsy.

Objective: Mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) is the most common type of focal epilepsy, but often lacks scalp EEG correlates. We ask if hippocampal epileptiform discharges that are characteristic of mTLE are associated with small sharp spikes (SSS) recorded on scalp EEG. SSS are considered benign waveforms, so are not currently used as markers of epilepsy.

Interstitial Stereotactic Laser Anterior Corpus Callosotomy: A Report of 2 Cases with Operative Technique and Effectiveness.

Background And Importance: Corpus callosotomy is an effective palliative treatment for medically intractable Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) that disrupts the interhemispheric synchronization of epileptiform discharges. However, traditional open corpus callosotomy carries a significant risk of surgical complications associated with craniotomy and a parafalcine approach to the corpus callosum. Here, we report 2 cases of anterior corpus callosotomy using MRI-guided stereotactic laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) as a minimally invasive technique for mitigating the risks of craniotomy while achieving favorable outcomes.

Antiglutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) antibody-associated epilepsy.

Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antibody-associated encephalitis causes both acute seizures and chronic epilepsy with predominantly temporal lobe onset. This condition is challenging in diagnosis and management, and the incidence of GAD antibody (Ab)-related epilepsy could be much higher than commonly believed. Imaging and CSF evidence of inflammation along with typical clinical presentations, such as adult onset temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) with unexplained etiology, should prompt testing for the diagnostic antibodies.

Stereotactic EEG-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.

Objective: To determine the outcomes of combined stereo-electroencephalography-guided and MRI-guided stereotactic laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) in the treatment of patients with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE).

Methods: We prospectively assessed the surgical and neuropsychological outcomes in 21 patients with medically refractory mTLE who underwent LITT at the University of Chicago Medical Center. We further compared the surgical outcomes in patients with and without mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS).