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Biomedical subjects

Andrew J Szeri

Publications and source records attributed to Andrew J Szeri.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Mechanisms of seizure propagation in a cortical model.

We consider a mathematical model of mesoscopic human cortical ictal electrical activity. We compare the model results with ictal electrocortical data recorded from three human subjects and show how the two agree. We determine that, in the model system, seizures result from increased connectivity between excitatory and inhibitory cell populations, or from decreased connectivity within either excitatory or inhibitory cell populations. We compare the model results with the disinhibition and 4-AP models of epilepsy and suggest how the model may guide the development of new anticonvulsant therapies.

4-Aminopyridine↗

Bifurcation control of a seizing human cortex.

We consider as a mathematical model of human cortical electrical activity a system of fourteen ordinary differential equations. With appropriate parameters, the model produces activity characteristic of a seizure. To prevent such seizures, we incorporate feedback controllers into the model dynamics. We show that three controllers--a linear feedback controller, a differential controller, and a filter controller--can be used to eliminate seizing activity in the model system. We show how bifurcations induced by the linear controller alter those present in the original dynamics.

Action Potentials↗

Pathological pattern formation and cortical propagation of epileptic seizures.

The stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) stated by Steyn-Ross and co-workers constitute a model of mesoscopic electrical activity of the human cortex. A simplification in which spatial variation and stochastic input are neglected yields ordinary differential equations (ODEs), which are amenable to analysis by techniques of dynamical systems theory. Bifurcation diagrams are developed for the ODEs with increased subcortical excitation, showing that the model predicts oscillatory electrical activity in a large range of parameters. The full SPDEs with increased subcortical excitation produce travelling waves of electrical activity. These model results are compared with electrocortical data recorded at two subdural electrodes from a human subject undergoing a seizure. The model and observational results agree in two important respects during seizure: (i) the average frequency of maximum power, and (ii) the speed of spatial propagation of voltage peaks. This suggests that seizing activity on the human cortex may be understood as an example of pathological pattern formation. Included is a discussion of the applications and limitations of these results.

Cerebral Cortex↗

A new route to chaos: sequences of topological torus bifurcations.

We consider a sequence of topological torus bifurcations (TTBs) in a nonlinear, quasiperiodic Mathieu equation. The sequence of TTBs and an ensuing transition to chaos are observed by computing the principal Lyapunov exponent over a range of the bifurcation parameter. We also consider the effect of the sequence on the power spectrum before and after the transition to chaos. We then describe the topology of the set of knotted tori that are present before the transition to chaos. Following the transition, solutions evolve on strange attractors that have the topology of fractal braids in Poincare sections. We examine the topology of fractal braids and the dynamics of solutions that evolve on them. We end with a brief discussion of the number of TTBs in the cascade that leads to chaos.

Algorithms↗

Synchronization measures of bursting data: application to the electrocorticogram of an auditory event-related experiment.

Synchronization measures have become an important tool for exploring the relationships between time series. We review three recently proposed nonlinear synchronization measures and expand their definitions in a straightforward way to apply to an ensemble of measurements. We also develop a synchronization measure in which nearest neighbors are determined across the ensemble. We compare these four nonlinear synchronization measures and show that our measure succeeds in physically motivated examples where the other methods fail. We apply the synchronization measure to human electrocorticogram data collected during an auditory event-related potential experiment. The results suggest a crude model of cortical connectivity.

Action Potentials↗

Quantitative approximation of the cortical surface potential from EEG and ECoG measurements.

A quantitative approximation of the cortical surface potential from measured scalp surface potential data is developed. The derivation is based on a local Taylor series expansion (TSE) in the surface normal coordinate. Analytical and numerical results for the four shell spherical head model show that the TSE method improves the spatial deblurring of the surface Laplacian method. The inclusion of the biharmonic term, the extension to other geometries, and the application to electrocorticogram measurements are discussed.

Algorithms↗

Optimization of acoustic scattering from dual-frequency driven microbubbles at the difference frequency.

The second harmonic radiation of acoustically driven bubbles is a useful discriminant for their presence in clinical ultrasound applications. It is useful because the scatter from a bubble at a frequency different from the driving can have a contrast-to-tissue ratio better than at the drive frequency. In this work a technique is developed to optimize the scattering from a microbubble at a frequency different from the driving. This is accomplished by adjusting the relative phase and amplitudes of the components of a dual-frequency incident ultrasound wave form. The investigation is focused primarily on the example of dual-mode driving at frequencies of 1 MHz and 3 MHz, with the scattering optimized at 2 MHz. Bubble radii of primary interest are 0.5 to 2 microm and driving amplitudes to 0.5 atm. Bubbles in this size range are sensitive to modulation of driving. It is shown that an optimal forcing scheme can increase the target response eightfold or more. This suggests new applications in imaging and in bubble detection.

Animals↗

Argon rectification and the cause of light emission in single-bubble sonoluminescence.

In single-bubble sonoluminescence, repeated brief flashes of light are produced in a gas bubble strongly driven by a periodic acoustic field. A startling hypothesis has been made by Lohse and co-workers [Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 1359 (1997)] that the non-noble gases in an air bubble undergo chemical reaction into soluble products, leaving only argon. In the present work, this dissociation hypothesis is supported by simulations, although the associated temperatures of about 7000 K seem too low for bremsstrahlung, which has been proposed as the dominant light emission mechanism. This suggests that emission from water vapor and its reaction products, heretofore not included, may play an important role.

Journal Article↗

Optimal pulse-inversion imaging for microsphere contrast agents.

Microbubbles are used as contrast agents because they scatter incident ultrasound (US) efficiently. Pulse-inversion imaging makes use of the asymmetrical difference in response of a bubble to an US pulse and its symmetrical opposite to obtain improved contrast. In this theoretical work, the principle of pulse-inversion imaging is expanded upon by finding the optimal pulse shape to maximize the signal from a bubble. Given a limit on driving intensity, a suitable norm of the bubble response is maximized using optimal control theory to identify the proper pulse/antipulse driving protocol for a single bubble. The optimal pulse yields a several-fold increase in the normed response over the best sinusoidal pulse of the same driving intensity. It was found that the optimal driving for a single bubble also maximizes the nonlinear response of the cloud if its mean bubble size is the same as that of the single bubble.

Biomedical Enhancement↗

Coupled dynamics of translation and collapse of acoustically driven microbubbles.

Pressure gradients drive the motion of microbubbles relative to liquids in which they are suspended. Examples include the hydrostatic pressure due to a gravitational field, and the pressure gradients in a sound field, useful for acoustic levitation. In this paper, the equations describing the coupled dynamics of radial oscillation and translation of a microbubble are given. The formulation is based on a recently derived expression for the hydrodynamic force on a bubble of changing size in an incompressible liquid [J. Magnaudet and D. Legendre, Phys. Fluids 10, 550-556 (1998)]. The complex interaction between radial and translation dynamics is best understood by examination of the added momentum associated with the liquid motion caused by the moving bubble. Translation is maximized when the bubble collapses violently. The new theory for coupled collapse and translation dynamics is compared to past experiments and to previous theories for decoupled translation dynamics. Special attention is paid to bubbles of relevance in biomedical applications.

Acoustics↗