The efficacy of osteoporotic treatment in patients with new spinal vertebral compression fracture pain, ADL, QOL, bone metabolism and fracture-healing - In comparison with weekly teriparatide with bisphosphonate.

We conducted a randomized control study to compare the effects of pain, QOL, bone metabolism and fracture healing by administering bisphosphonate (BP) or weekly teriparatide preparation (W-TPTD) to 43 patients (5 males and 38 females) with fresh spinal vertebral compression fractures for osteoporosis. The patients were aged between 61 and 93 years old (mean 78.1 years).

Measuring the actual timing of liquid-reward delivery using a thermistor.

Background: Determining the exact timing of reward delivery is critical in neurophysiological experiments. Despite the importance of this parameter, techniques for precisely measuring the exact delivery time of a liquid reward have been underdeveloped. Although there is always some latency between the computer command and reward delivery, the former has been used routinely to mark reward onset time.

Neural networks involved in artistic creativity.

Creativity has been proposed to be either the result of solely right hemisphere processes or of interhemispheric interactions. Little information is available, however, concerning the neuronal foundations of creativity. In this study, we introduced a new artistic task, designing a new tool (a pen), which let us quantitatively evaluate creativity by three indices of originality.

Effects of motor training on the recovery of manual dexterity after primary motor cortex lesion in macaque monkeys.

To investigate the effects of postlesion training on motor recovery, we compared the motor recovery of macaque monkeys that had received intensive motor training with those that received no training after a lesion of the primary motor cortex (M1). An ibotenic acid lesion in the M1 digit area resulted in impairment of hand function, with complete loss of digit movement. In the monkeys that had undergone intensive daily training (1 h/day, 5 days/wk) after the lesion, behavioral indexes used to evaluate manual dexterity recovered to the same level as in the prelesion period after 1 or 2 mo of postlesion training period.

MST neurons code for visual motion in space independent of pursuit eye movements.

When a person tracks a small moving object, the visual images in the background of the visual scene move across his/her retina. It, however, is possible to estimate the actual motion of the images despite the eye-movement-induced motion. To understand the neural mechanism that reconstructs a stable visual world independent of eye movements, we explored areas MT (middle temporal) and MST (medial superior temporal) in the monkey cortex, both of which are known to be essential for visual motion analysis.

A prospective randomized study of posterolateral lumbar fusion using osteogenic protein-1 (OP-1) versus local autograft with ceramic bone substitute: emphasis of surgical exploration and histologic assessment.

Study Design: A prospective, randomized and controlled study.

Objectives: To evaluate the osteoinductive property of Osteogenic Protein-1 (OP-1 or BMP-7) and fusion rate in human instrumented posterolateral lumbar fusion through radiographic examination, surgical exploration, and histologic assessment.

Summary Of Background Data: The use of osteoinductive agents is a current topic in spinal fusion.

Cortical activity in multiple motor areas during sequential finger movements: an application of independent component analysis.

Multiple cortical regions such as the supplementary motor area (SMA), premotor cortex (PM), and primary motor cortex (M1) are involved in the sequential execution of hand movements, but it is unclear how these areas collaborate in the preparation and execution of ipsilateral and contralateral hand movements. In this study, we used right-handed subjects to examine the spatial distribution and temporal profiles of motor-related activity during visually cued sequential finger movements by applying independent component analysis (ICA) to event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals. The particular merit of the ICA method is that it allows brain activity in individual subjects to be elucidated without making a priori assumptions about the anatomical areas that are activated or the temporal profile of activity.

New treatment of lumbar disc herniation involving 5-hydroxytryptamine2A receptor inhibitor: a randomized controlled trial.

Object: Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is a chemical mediator associated with nucleus pulposus-induced radiculopathy. Inhibition of 5-HT receptors may potentially alleviate symptoms in patients with lumbar disc herniation. This prospective randomized controlled study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of the 5-HT2A receptor inhibitor in the treatment of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation.

Neuronal mechanisms encoding global-to-fine information in inferior-temporal cortex.

Sugase et al. found that global information is represented at the initial transient firing of a single face-responsive neuron in inferior-temporal (IT) cortex, and that finer information is represented at the subsequent sustained firing. A feed-forward model and an attractor network are conceivable models to reproduce this dynamics.

Non-fusion surgery for degenerative spondylolisthesis using artificial ligament stabilization: surgical indication and clinical results.

Study Design: A retrospective study.

Objectives: To report midterm clinical and radiographic results of Graf artificial ligament stabilization in the treatment of degenerative spondylolisthesis and to evaluate the role of this procedure and its surgical indications for surgical success.

Summary Of Background Data: Nonfusion surgeries including artificial disc replacement and ligamentoplasty are increasingly gaining interest to avoid adverse effects of spinal fusion.

Dominance of the left oblique view in activating the cortical network for face recognition.

Faces in portraits are often depicted from the left 3/4 view (an oblique view of the face that is intermediate between the frontal view and left profile). Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show that, compared with photographs of right 3/4 views of familiar faces, photographs of left 3/4 views of the same faces elicited stronger neural responses in the right middle occipital/inferior parietal cortex, and right inferior frontal gyrus; which are known to be involved in face recognition. By contrast, there was no differential activation in the temporal cortex including the superior temporal sulcus and fusiform gyrus, which are thought to process face-related visual stimuli at a stage that precedes recognition.

Population dynamics of face-responsive neurons in the inferior temporal cortex.

Neurons in the inferior temporal (IT) cortex of monkeys respond selectively to complex visual stimuli, such as faces. Single neurons in the IT cortex encode different kinds of information about visual stimuli in their temporal firing patterns. To understand the temporal aspects of the information encoded at a population level in the IT cortex, we applied principal component analysis (PCA) to the responses of a population of neurons.

Accelerated recognition of left oblique views of faces.

Because faces in portraits are depicted more frequently in a left rather than a right oblique (half-profile or 3/4) view, we addressed the question of whether people find it easier to recognize the left or right 3/4 view of a familiar person's face. We examined the ability of 13 subjects to match familiar faces that were presented in either the left or right 3/4 view, with names that were presented either before or after the faces (face-name and name-face matching tasks, respectively). In both tasks, the subjects responded more rapidly to a left than to a right 3/4 view of the same face.

Pitfalls of anterior cervical fusion using titanium mesh and local autograft.

Cervical fusion cages have been developed to provide an anterior structural support without harvesting tricortical iliac bone. Limited numbers of investigations have focused on pitfalls of anterior cervical fusion using cage implants. The objective of this study is to report clinical results and implant-related complications in anterior cervical fusion using titanium mesh and anterior plating.

Intraoperative biomechanical assessment of lumbar spinal instability: validation of radiographic parameters indicating anterior column support in lumbar spinal fusion.

Study Design: Lumbar spinal instability was evaluated using radiographic parameters and intraoperative biomechanical measurement.

Objectives: To validate a conventional radiographic assessment using an intraoperative biomechanical measurement and to determine the radiographic parameters indicating anterior column support in lumbar spinal fusion.

Background: Posterior lumbar interbody fusion is gaining acceptance in the treatment of degenerative spondylolisthesis, whereas posterolateral fusion alone may result in good clinical outcomes.

Description of a new endoscopic posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and comparison with a 2-incision technique.

Purpose: We introduce our technique (a new route for the graft) of endoscopic posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction and describe the advantages in comparison with the conventional surgical technique.

Type Of Study: Nonrandomized control study.

Methods: The idea of this surgical technique is to minimize graft angulation at the inner edge of the bone tunnel.

Efficacy of serotonin receptor blocker for symptomatic lumbar disc herniation.

Serotonin is one of the chemical mediators associated with nerve root inflammation and sciatic symptoms in lumbar disc herniation. The efficacy of serotonin 5-HT(2A) receptor blocker was examined in 44 patients with symptomatic lumbar disc herniation. A selective 5-HT(2A) receptor blocker (sarpogrelate hydroxychloride) was administered orally at a dose of 300 mg per day for 2 weeks.

Two-stage reconstruction with autografts for knee dislocations.

Traumatic knee dislocations are severe injuries that involve damage to the anterior cruciate ligament, the posterior cruciate ligament, and the lateral or medial ligamentous structures. There are no established methods of treatment. The objective of the current study was to report the clinical outcome of a two-stage autologous reconstruction on nine knees (eight patients).

Clinical results of single-level posterior lumbar interbody fusion using the Brantigan I/F carbon cage filled with a mixture of local morselized bone and bioactive ceramic granules.

Study Design: A retrospective study to evaluate the results of single-level posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) using the Brantigan I/F cage (DePuy AcroMed Corp., Raynham, MA) filled with a mixture of local morselized autologous bone and bioactive ceramic granules.

Objectives: To report the clinical and radiologic results of PLIF using the Brantigan I/F cage for lumbar degenerative pathologies with instability.

A new endoscopic posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: Minimization of graft angulation.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this report is to present a new surgical technique for endoscopic posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction and to elucidate the preliminary results. Surgical Technique: The concept of this surgical technique is to minimize the graft angulation at the inner edge of the bone tunnel. The tibial entry point of the guide pin is under the tibial lateral subcondylar flare approximately 1 to 2 cm anterior to the posterior cortex and 4 cm distal to the joint surface.