Verb generation for presurgical mapping: Gaining specificity.

Verb generation is among the most frequently used tasks in presurgical mapping. Because this task involves many processes, the overall brain effects are not specific. While it is necessary to identify the whole network involving noun comprehension or semantic retrieval and lexical selection to produce the verb, isolation of those components is also crucial.

A common low dimensional structure of cognitive impairment in stroke and brain tumors.

Introduction: Neuropsychological studies infer brain-behavior relationships from focal lesions like stroke and tumors. However, these pathologies impair brain function through different mechanisms even when they occur at the same brain's location. The aim of this study was to compare the profile of cognitive impairment in patients with brain tumors vs.

White Matter Tract Density Index Prediction Model of Overall Survival in Glioblastoma.

Importance: The prognosis of overall survival (OS) in patients with glioblastoma (GBM) may depend on the underlying structural connectivity of the brain.

Objective: To examine the association between white matter tracts affected by GBM and patients' OS by means of a new tract density index (TDI).

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prognostic study in patients with a histopathologic diagnosis of GBM examined a discovery cohort of 112 patients who underwent surgery between February 1, 2015, and November 30, 2020 (follow-up to May 31, 2023), in Italy and 70 patients in a replicative cohort (n = 70) who underwent surgery between September 1, 2012, and November 30, 2015 (follow-up to May 31, 2023), in Germany.

Thalamopeduncular Tumors in Pediatric Age: Advanced Preoperative Imaging to Define Safe Surgical Planning: A Multicentric Experience.

: Thalamopeduncular tumors are challenging lesions arising at the junction between the thalamus and the cerebral peduncle. They represent 1-5% of pediatric brain tumors, are mainly pilocytic astrocytoma and occur within the first two decades of life. To date, the optimal treatment remains unclear.

Patterns of gray and white matter functional networks involvement in glioblastoma patients: indirect mapping from clinical MRI scans.

Background: Resting-state functional-MRI studies identified several cortical gray matter functional networks (GMNs) and white matter functional networks (WMNs) with precise anatomical localization. Here, we aimed at describing the relationships between brain's functional topological organization and glioblastoma (GBM) location. Furthermore, we assessed whether GBM distribution across these networks was associated with overall survival (OS).

Selective Stimulus Intensity during Hotspot Search Ensures Faster and More Accurate Preoperative Motor Mapping with nTMS.

Introduction: Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) has emerged as one of the most innovative techniques in neurosurgical practice. However, nTMS motor mapping involves rigorous steps, and the importance of an accurate execution method has not been emphasized enough. In particular, despite strict adherence to procedural protocols, we have observed high variability in map activation according to the choice of stimulation intensity (SI) right from the early stage of hotspot localization.

Early surgery and definitive cure in small sporadic vestibular schwannoma.

Objective: To report surgical outcomes of a cohort of small sporadic vestibular schwannoma and discuss the role of early surgery.

Methods: Retrospective descriptive analysis of 234 consecutive patients with small vestibular schwannoma operated on with translabyrinthine or hearing preservation surgical approaches. Outcome measures were control of disease, postoperative facial nerve function, complications and hearing outcome.

Development of detailed finite element models for in silico analyses of brain impact dynamics.

Background And Objective: In the last few decades, several studies have been performed to investigate traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and to understand the biomechanical response of brain tissues, by using experimental and computational approaches. As part of computational approaches, human head finite element (FE) models show to be important tools in the analysis of TBIs, making it possible to estimate local mechanical effects on brain tissue for different accident scenarios. The present study aims to contribute to the computational approach by means of the development of three advanced FE head models for accurately describing the head tissue dynamics, the first step to predict TBIs.

Presurgical predictors of early cognitive outcome after brain tumor resection in glioma patients.

Gliomas are commonly characterized by neurocognitive deficits that strongly impact patients' and caregivers' quality of life. Surgical resection is the mainstay of therapy, and it can also cause cognitive impairment. An important clinical problem is whether patients who undergo surgery will show post-surgical cognitive impairment above and beyond that present before surgery.

Early Translabyrinthine Surgery for Small- and Medium-Sized Vestibular Schwannomas: Consecutive Cohort Analysis of Outcomes.

Objective: Reappraisal of the role of translabyrinthine (TLAB) surgery in small- and medium-sized vestibular schwannomas (VSs).

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Case Series of Long-Term Follow-up.

Objectives: Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been shown to be effective for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). However, long-term (>5 years) studies on the efficacy and tolerability of this treatment have been lacking. Here, we report a long-term clinical follow-up of 5 patients with severe and long-standing TRD, who received a VNS implant.

Newly Diagnosed Multifocal GBM: A Monocentric Experience and Literature Review.

Glioblastomas with multiple foci at presentation (mGBMs) account for 2-35% of all GBMs. mGBMs have limited existing data and no standardized treatment. This study aims to determine their incidence, demographic and clinical features, outcome, and prognostic factors in terms of overall survival.

Assessment of structural disconnections in gliomas: comparison of indirect and direct approaches.

Gliomas are amongst the most common primary brain tumours in adults and are often associated with poor prognosis. Understanding the extent of white matter (WM) which is affected outside the tumoral lesion may be of paramount importance to explain cognitive deficits and the clinical progression of the disease. To this end, we explored both direct (i.

Widespread cortical functional disconnection in gliomas: an individual network mapping approach.

Assessment of impaired/preserved cortical regions in brain tumours is typically performed via intraoperative direct brain stimulation of eloquent areas or task-based functional MRI. One main limitation is that they overlook distal brain regions or networks that could be functionally impaired by the tumour. This study aims (i) to investigate the impact of brain tumours on the cortical synchronization of brain networks measured with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (resting-state networks) both near the lesion and remotely and (ii) to test whether potential changes in resting-state networks correlate with cognitive status.

Diffusion-based microstructure models in brain tumours: Fitting in presence of a model-microstructure mismatch.

Diffusion-based biophysical models have been used in several recent works to study the microenvironment of brain tumours. While the pathophysiological interpretation of the parameters of these models remains unclear, their use as signal representations may yield useful biomarkers for monitoring the treatment and the progression of this complex and heterogeneous disease. Up to now, however, no study was devoted to assessing the mathematical stability of these approaches in cancerous brain regions.

Impaired cognitive control in patients with brain tumors.

Though the assessment of cognitive functions is proven to be a reliable prognostic indicator in patients with brain tumors, some of these functions, such as cognitive control, are still rarely investigated. The objective of this study was to examine proactive and reactive control functions in patients with focal brain tumors and to identify lesioned brain areas more at "risk" for developing impairment of these functions. To this end, a group of twenty-two patients, candidate to surgery, were tested with an AX-CPT task and a Stroop task, along with a clinical neuropsychological assessment, and their performance was compared to that of a well-matched healthy control group.

Myeloid Diagnostic and Prognostic Markers of Immune Suppression in the Blood of Glioma Patients.

Background: Although gliomas are confined to the central nervous system, their negative influence over the immune system extends to peripheral circulation. The immune suppression exerted by myeloid cells can affect both response to therapy and disease outcome. We analyzed the expansion of several myeloid parameters in the blood of low- and high-grade gliomas and assessed their relevance as biomarkers of disease and clinical outcome.

Position of Retrosigmoid Craniotomy in Hearing Preservation Surgery for Vestibular Schwannoma.

Background: Surgical access to the internal auditory canal (IAC) fundus is a crucial aspect of the retrosigmoid approach for hearing preservation surgery in vestibular schwannoma. An appropriate positioning of the retrosigmoid craniotomy is necessary to obtain an adequate surgical corridor for full fundus exposure and labyrinth preservation.

Objective: To describe how the position of the posterior edge of the access related to the probability of exposing the fundus and to propose novel criteria for positioning the retrosigmoid craniotomy.

Spinal Meningiomas: Influence of Cord Compression and Radiological Features on Preoperative Functional Status and Outcome.

Background: Radiological parameters predicting the postoperative neurological outcome after resection of a spinal meningioma (SM) are poorly studied, with controversial results.

Methods: Observational multicenter cohort (2011-2018) of adult patients undergoing surgery for resection of SM. Tumor-canal volume ratio (TCR), the areas related to the cord and tumor occupancy at maximum compression, the presence of dural tail, calcifications, signs of myelopathy, and postoperative cord expansion were compared with the modified McCormick scale (mMCS) preoperative and at follow-up.

Rule Perseveration during Task-Switching in Brain Tumor: A Severe Form of Task-Setting Impairment.

It has been proposed that at least two distinct processes are engaged during task-switching: reconfiguration of the currently relevant task-set and interference resolution arising from the competing task-set. Whereas in healthy individuals the two are difficult to disentangle, their disruption is thought to cause different impairments in brain-damaged patients. Yet, the observed deficits are inconsistent across studies and do not allow drawing conclusions regarding their independence.

Defining current practice patterns of vestibular schwannoma management in Italy: results of a nationwide survey.

Objective: Despite the increasing incidence rate of vestibular schwannomas (VS), controversies in their management are still present.

Methods: A 35-item multiple-choice survey investigating the current practice patterns of VS care was sent to the members of the Italian Society of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery (SIO) and of the Italian Society of Neurosurgery (SINCH).

Results: Among 66 respondents, 37 (56.

Preoperative Repetitive Navigated TMS and Functional White Matter Tractography in a Bilingual Patient with a Brain Tumor in Wernike Area.

Awake surgery and intraoperative neuromonitoring represent the gold standard for surgery of lesion located in language-eloquent areas of the dominant hemisphere, enabling the maximal safe resection while preserving language function. Nevertheless, this functional mapping is invasive; it can be executed only during surgery and in selected patients. Moreover, the number of neuro-oncological bilingual patients is constantly growing, and performing awake surgery in this group of patients can be difficult.