Distribution of Psychological Instability Among Surgeons.

Background: High emotional instability (i.e., neuroticism) is associated with poor mental health.

Predictors of outcomes after surgery for medically intractable insular epilepsy: A systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis.

Insular epilepsy (IE) is an increasingly recognized cause of drug-resistant epilepsy amenable to surgery. However, concerns of suboptimal seizure control and permanent neurological morbidity hamper widespread adoption of surgery for IE. We performed a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis to determine the efficacy and safety profile of surgery for IE and identify predictors of outcomes.

The impact of levamisole and alcohol on white matter microstructure in adult chronic cocaine users.

Previous brain imaging studies with chronic cocaine users (CU) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) mostly focused on fractional anisotropy to investigate white matter (WM) integrity. However, a quantitative interpretation of fractional anisotropy (FA) alterations is often impeded by the inherent limitations of the underlying tensor model. A more fine-grained measure of WM alterations could be achieved by measuring fibre density (FD).

A case of aphasia due to temporobasal edema: Contemporary models of language anatomy are clinically relevant.

Background: Understanding the anatomy of language in the human brain is crucial for neurosurgical decision making and complication avoidance. The traditional anatomical models of human language, relying on relatively simple and rigid concepts of brain connectivity, cannot explain all clinical observations. The clinical case reported here illustrates the relevance of more recent concepts of language networks involving white matter tracts and their connections.

The debate on apraxia and the supplementary motor area in the twentieth century.

Hand function and apraxia are equally relevant to neurosurgeons: as a symptom, as well as through the functional anatomy of "praxis" which underlies the dexterity needed for neurosurgical practice. The supplementary motor area is crucial for its understanding. Historically, Hugo Liepmann dominated the apraxia debate at the beginning of the twentieth century, a debate that has remained influential until today.

Neurologists, neurosurgeons, and psychiatrists' personality traits: a comparison.

Background: Clinicians in neuroscientific disciplines may present distinct personality profiles. Despite of potential relevance to clinical practice, this has not yet been studied. We therefore aimed to compare personality profiles of physicians working in the three main disciplines of clinical neuroscience, i.

Anatomical integrity within the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and semantic processing deficits in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

The core symptoms of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) include abnormal semantic processing which may rely on the ventral language stream of the human brain. Thus, structural disruption of the ventral language stream may play an important role in semantic deficits observed in SSD patients. Therefore, we compared white matter tract integrity in SSD patients and healthy controls using diffusion tensor imaging combined with probabilistic fiber tractography.

Conscious Experience and Psychological Consequences of Awake Craniotomy.

Background: Experiencing cranial surgery under awake conditions may expose patients to considerable psychological strain.

Methods: This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and course of psychological sequelae following awake craniotomy (AC) for brain tumors in a series of 20 patients using a broad, validated psychological assessment preoperatively, intraoperatively, postoperatively and a standardized follow-up of 3 months. In addition, the association of the preoperative psychological condition (including, but not limited to, anxiety and fear) with perioperative pain perception and interference was assessed.

Different but similar: personality traits of​ surgeons and internists-results of a cross-sectional observational study.

Objectives: Medical practice may attract and possibly enhance distinct personality profiles. We set out to describe the personality profiles of surgical and medical specialties focusing on board-certified physicians.

Design: Prospective, observational.

Sigmund Freud-early network theories of the brain.

Since the early days of modern neuroscience, psychological models of brain function have been a key component in the development of new knowledge. These models aim to provide a framework that allows the integration of discoveries derived from the fundamental disciplines of neuroscience, including anatomy and physiology, as well as clinical neurology and psychiatry. During the initial stages of his career, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), became actively involved in these nascent fields with a burgeoning interest in functional neuroanatomy.

Sexual Dysfunction After Good-Grade Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

Objective: To assess the consequences of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) on sexual pleasure in patients with an otherwise favorable neurologic outcome.

Methods: Anonymous, standardized questionnaires concerning sexual function, including the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and a statement on subjective change in sexual pleasure after aSAH, were completed by 33 patients treated at the Cantonal Hospital St Gallen between 2005 and 2013. All had favorable neurologic outcomes (Glasgow Outcome Scale score 4 or 5).

Intrarectal Anesthesia in Neurosurgery.

In the early days of modern neurologic surgery, the inconveniences and potential dangers of general anesthesia by chloroform and ether using the so-called "open-drop technique" led to the quest for alternative methods of anesthesia. This became all the more necessary, since patient positioning and the surgical arrangements often hindered the use of a drop bottle. One approach to solve this problem was intrarectal ether application.

The influence of lunar phases and zodiac sign 'Leo' on perioperative complications and outcome in elective spine surgery.

Background: Many people believe that the moon has an influence on daily life, and some even request elective surgery dates depending on the moon calendar. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of 'unfavorable' lunar or zodiac constellations on perioperative complications and outcome in elective surgery for degenerative disc disease.

Methods: Retrospective database analysis including 924 patients.

[Meningioma: management of the most common brain tumour].

Meningiomas are the most common primary brain tumours in adults and are therefore relevant for general practitioners. Most meningiomas are benign and neurosurgical resection offers the best chance of cure. However, complete resection is not achievable in many patients.

Awake Craniotomy: First-Year Experiences and Patient Perception.

Background: Awake craniotomy for brain lesions in or near eloquent brain regions enables neurosurgeons to assess neurologic functions of patients intraoperatively, reducing the risk of permanent neurologic deficits and increasing the extent of resection.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of a consecutive series of patients with awake craniotomies in the first year of their introduction to our tertiary non-university-affiliated neurosurgery department. Operation time, complications, and neurologic outcome were assessed, and patient perception of awake craniotomy was surveyed using a mailed questionnaire.

Reversible pure word deafness due to inferior colliculi compression by a pineal germinoma in a young adult.

We report a clinical case of a 19-year-old male patient who developed pure word deafness due to the local compressive effect of a pineal germinoma on the inferior colliculi of the quadrigeminal plate. After percutaneous radiation therapy the size of the tumor decreased significantly, while audiometry demonstrated a complete regression of the auditory deficit. Since pure word deafness is commonly attributed to temporal lesions, the inferior colliculi represent an exceptional site for these symptoms.

Sexuality after surgery for diffuse low-grade glioma.

Background: Although neurological and neurocognitive outcomes have previously been studied after resection of diffuse low-grade glioma (DLGG), the impact of surgery on sexual life has not been investigated. Our aim was to assess whether DLGG surgery could have consequences on sexual experience.

Methods: Anonymous standardized questionnaires concerning sexual functioning, including the Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) and a subjective statement, were completed by 32 patients who underwent surgery for DLGG.

The evolution of brain surgery on awake patients.

In the early days of modern neurological surgery, the inconveniences and potential dangers of general anesthesia by chloroform and ether using the so-called "open-drop technique" led to the quest for alternative methods of anesthesia. Besides preventing the feared side effects, the introduction of regional anesthesia revealed another decisive advantage over general anesthesia in neurosurgery: While intraoperative direct cortical stimulation under general anesthesia could only delineate the motor area (by evocation of contralateral muscular contraction), now, the awake patients were able to report sensations elicited by this method. These properties advanced regional anesthesia to the regimen of choice for cranial surgeries in the first half of the 20th century.

Georg Büchner, Sigmund Freud and the "Schädelnerven" (cranial nerves) - research on the brain and soul in the 19th century.

Background: One of the authors' encounter with one of Sigmund Freud's original works about the anatomy of the human brain stem and his interest in the scientist, anatomist, philosopher, writer and revolutionary Georg Büchner led to re-examination and review of the original writings of two major 19th century protagonists of brain anatomy research. The aim of the authors is to highlight the achievements of both Freud and Büchner in the field of comparative brain morphology.

Methods: The medical and philosophical publications of Georg Büchner were reviewed with reference to the historical-critical edition of his complete works and writings (the so-called Marburg edition).