Laryngeal Muscle-Evoked Potential Recording as an Indicator of Vagal Nerve Fiber Activation.

Background: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an adjunctive therapy for drug-resistant epilepsy. Noninvasive evoked potential recordings in laryngeal muscles (LMEPs) innervated by vagal branches may provide a marker to assess effective vagal nerve fiber activation. We investigated VNS-induced LMEPs in patients with epilepsy in acute and chronic settings.

Voxel-Based Analysis of [18F]-FDG Brain PET in Rats Using Data-Driven Normalization.

[18F]-FDG PET is a widely used imaging modality that visualizes cellular glucose uptake and provides functional information on the metabolic state of different tissues . Various quantification methods can be used to evaluate glucose metabolism in the brain, including the cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (CMR) and standard uptake values (SUVs). Especially in the brain, these (semi-)quantitative measures can be affected by several physiological factors, such as blood glucose level, age, gender, and stress.

Level of hM4D(Gi) DREADD Expression Determines Inhibitory and Neurotoxic Effects in the Hippocampus.

Selective neuromodulation using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) has become an increasingly important research tool, as well as an emerging therapeutic approach. However, the safety profile of DREADD expression is unknown. Here, different titers of adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector were administered in an attempt to vary total expression levels of the inhibitory DREADD hM4D(Gi) in excitatory hippocampal neurons.

Seizures and Interictal Epileptiform Activity in the Rat Collagenase Model for Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Aims: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a known risk factor for the development of acute symptomatic as well as late unprovoked seizures. The underlying pathophysiology of post-ICH seizures is incompletely understood and there are no reliable predictive biomarkers. An animal model to study post-ICH seizures is currently lacking.

Acute symptomatic seizures following intracerebral hemorrhage in the rat collagenase model.

Background And Purpose: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a known risk factor for the development of seizures, but little is known about the pathophysiology of seizures in the acute phase post-ICH and their influence on functional outcome. With the use of an animal model, the underlying pathophysiology could be further unraveled. The aim of our study was to optimize the rat collagenase stroke model for the detection of acute symptomatic seizures using video-EEG monitoring.