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Biomedical subjects

D Brandeis

Publications and source records attributed to D Brandeis.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Attentional and neuromotor deficits in ADHD.

In order to classify attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 11-year-old children, the role of specific attentional and motor deficits was examined. Participants comprised 22 children with ADHD (19 male, 3 female; median age 11 years, range 8.8 to 13.5 years) and 20 control children (17 male, 3 female; median age 10.6 years, range 8.2 to 12.6 years). Neuromotor assessment indicated that while both groups needed more time to complete finger compared to hand movements, this increase was more pronounced in children with ADHD. Reaction-time testing with continuous-force recording identified both motor and attentional deficits in children with ADHD. Longer intervals between force onset and force peak, and higher rate of responses with multiple force peaks (particularly in the bilateral condition) revealed specific deficits in the speed and quality of their motor output. Increase in errors and variability of force onsets indicated attentional deficits. Prediction analysis indicated that force-onset variability contributed significantly to group classification which was 85.7% correct. Neither neuromotor assessment nor specific motor deficits contributed significantly to classification, indicating that pure motor-speed measures play a minor role in characterizing ADHD in this age range.

Adolescent↗

Brain mapping of bilateral interactions in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and control boys.

OBJECTIVES: Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are thought to have deficits in attentional control, whereas the status of deficits at visual and pre-motor processing stages is unclear. METHODS: The timing of such deficits was examined with event-related potential (ERP) microstates (stimulus- and response-related) and continuous force recordings in 15 ADHD and 16 control boys in a choice reaction time task. Unilateral and bilateral stimulus and response conditions were used to assess bilateral interactions at visual, central, and pre-motor stages. RESULTS: ADHD boys showed poorer performance, particularly in the bilateral conditions. In the visual P1 microstates, they exhibited less suppression of visual evoked potential (VEP) amplitudes but similar speeding of VEP latencies in the bilateral compared to the summed unilateral condition. The central P3 and pre-/post-response microstates were attenuated and topographically altered in ADHD boys. The attenuation was most pronounced in the bilateral condition and was similar for stimulus- and response-related averages. The lateralized readiness potential was also reduced in ADHD boys; this was most pronounced for the left hand responses. CONCLUSIONS: Brain mapping during uni- and bilateral stimulus and response conditions thus indicates multilevel deficits in ADHD boys affecting visuo-attentional, central, and pre-motor processes.

Adolescent↗

Inhibitory dysfunction in hyperactive boys.

Recent evidence suggests that the main deficit in childhood hyperactivity is in frontal lobe-mediated self-regulative functions such as inhibitory control. Hyperactives have consistently been shown to perform poorly on the stop task, which is a laboratory measurement of inhibitory control. This study was aimed at extending knowledge about inhibitory processes involved in the hyperactive's performance on this task. For this purpose, the performance of 11 pervasive hyperactives was compared to the performance of normal children on two stop tasks which differed from each other in the contingency of timing of the stop signal. In Stop1 stop signals were internally related, i.e. presented at time intervals after onset of the response stimulus, whereas in Stop2 stop signals were externally related, i.e. presented at time intervals related to the subject's own go-process. Both tasks were modifications of the classical stop task in modality of the stop signal visual instead of auditory and in event rate, which was half-shortened. The aim of this study was: (a) to replicate the findings of deficient inhibitory functions in hyperactive children in the stop task in spite of modifications in modality and event rate; and (b) to elucidate (dis)similarities of stopping processes or of group differences in these stopping processes triggered by stop delays related either to external or to internal processes. Hyperactive children were less efficient than controls in inhibiting their motor response in both versions of the stop task. independent of whether the stop signals were externally or internally related. Furthermore, the go-process of the hyperactives was more variable and erratic in both tasks. Thus, the results strengthen the effectiveness of stop tasks in distinguishing hyperactive from normal children.

Attention↗

The continuous performance test revisited with neuroelectric mapping: impaired orienting in children with attention deficits.

A total of 11 children with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and nine control children performed a continuous performance test (CPT) of the A-X type with concurrent neuroelectric brain mapping to assess preparatory processing, purportedly mediated by the frontal lobes. This cued CPT task proved to be a highly specific task. The groups could be clearly differentiated both at the behavioral and electrophysiological level. ADD children detected fewer signals and made more false alarms. There were no major group differences in topographical distribution of the event-related potential microstates, but ADD children displayed reduced global field power (GFP) in an early CNV/P3 microstate to cues. This indicated that impaired orienting to cues, rather than impaired executive target processing, determines the initial processing stages in ADD. In comparison with data from the same task run in Utrecht, the same orienting deficit in clinically diagnosed ADHD children was demonstrated. Low resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) estimated posterior sources underlying these orienting processes and the orienting deficit. This argued against frontal lobe involvement at this stage and suggested involvement of a posterior attention system.

Arousal↗

Neuroelectric mapping reveals precursor of stop failures in children with attention deficits.

Children with attention deficit disorders (ADD) may have specific problems with response inhibition in the STOP task. This task requires that subjects stop responses to a primary task if a second signal follows. However, it is unclear whether these problems reflect an impairment of the stopping process per se, whether they are related to reduced frontal lobe activation and whether they are confined to severe and pervasive forms of ADD. In 11 ADD and nine control children, 32 channel event-related EEG potentials (ERPs) were recorded in a STOP and a delayed GO task. Mapping revealed that both tasks evoked a similar sequence of neuroelectric microstates, i.e. of time segments with stable map topography. Adaptive segmentation identified the transition between these microstates. Reliable group differences were found in several microstates and in both tasks despite matched performance. In the GO task, ADD children had topographically altered P2/N2 microstates and attenuated P300-type microstates. In the STOP task, a topographically altered N1 microstate which coincided with the onset of the stop signal preceded the stop failures of ADD children. The timing of this microstate is too early to reflect deficits in actual stop signal processing and instead suggests altered initial orienting of attention to the primary signal in ADD children. Imaging with low resolution tomography (LORETA) during this microstate to stop failures indicated mainly posterior activation for both groups and increased rather than reduced frontal activation in ADD children. For a later microstate (P550), LORETA indicated strong frontal activation after successful stopping, but no group differences. The results suggest that information processing of ADD children deviates during activation of posterior mechanisms which may be related to the orienting of attention and which precedes and partly determines inhibitory control problems in ADD.

Arousal↗

Three-dimensional tomography of event-related potentials during response inhibition: evidence for phasic frontal lobe activation.

OBJECTIVES: Spatial analysis of the evoked brain electrical fields during a cued continuous performance test (CPT) revealed an extremely robust anteriorization of the positivity of a P300 microstate in the NoGo compared to the Go condition (NoGo-anteriorization in a previous study). To allow a neuroanatomical interpretation the NoGo-anteriorization was investigated with a new three-dimensional source tomography method (LORETA) was applied. METHODS: The CPT contains subsets of stimuli requiring the execution (Go) or the inhibition (NoGo) of a cued motor response which can be considered as mutual control conditions for the event-related potential (ERP) study of inhibitory brain functions 21-channel ERPs were obtained from 10 healthy subjects during a cued CPT, and analyzed with LORETA. RESULTS: Topographic analyses revealed significantly different scalp distributions between the Go and the NoGo conditions in both P100 and P300 microstates, indicating that already at an early stage different neural assemblies are activated. LORETA disclosed a significant hyperactivity located in the right frontal lobe during the NoGo condition in the P300 microstate. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that right frontal sources are responsible for the NoGo-anteriorization of the scalp P300 which is consistent with animal and human lesion studies of inhibitory brain functions. Furthermore, it demonstrates that frontal activation is confined to a brief microstate and time-locked to phasic inhibitory motor control. This adds important functional and chronometric specificity to findings of frontal activation obtained with PET and Near-Infrared-Spectroscopy studies during the cued CPT, and suggests that these metabolic results are not due to general task demands.

Adult↗

Multichannel EEG fields during and without visual input: frequency domain model source locations and dimensional complexities.

27-Channel EEG potential map series were recorded from 12 normals with closed and open eyes. Intracerebral dipole model source locations in the frequency domain were computed. Eye opening (visual input) caused centralization (convergence and elevation) of the source locations of the seven frequency bands, indicative of generalized activity; especially, there was clear anteriorization of alpha-2 (10.5-12 Hz) and beta-2 (18.5-21 Hz) sources (alpha-2 also to the left). Complexity of the map series' trajectories in state space (assessed by Global Dimensional Complexity and Global OMEGA Complexity) increased significantly with eye opening, indicative of more independent, parallel, active processes. Contrary to PET and fMRI, these results suggest that brain activity is more distributed and independent during visual input than after eye closing (when it is more localized and more posterior).

Adult↗

Psychiatric, neuropediatric, and neuropsychological symptoms in a case of hypomelanosis of Ito.

This case report presents a thirteen year-old boy who was diagnosed as having Hypomelanosis of Ito. The developmental history includes severe failure to thrive, and moderate atypical autism as well as diverse clinical and neuropsychological symptoms are present. The pattern of neuropsychological functioning, which can be partially related to the neurophysiological findings, is discussed within the context of existing neuropsychological theories about autistic disorders.

Adolescent↗

Prestimulus EEG microstates influence visual event-related potential microstates in field maps with 47 channels.

The influence of the immediate prestimulus EEG microstate (sub-second epoch of stable topography/map landscape) on the map landscape of visually evoked 47-channel event-related potential (ERP) microstates was examined using the frequent, non-target stimuli of a cognitive paradigm (12 volunteers). For the two frequent prestimulus microstate classes (oriented left anterior-right posterior and right anterior-left posterior), ERP map series were selectively averaged. The post-stimulus ERP grand average map series was segmented into microstates; 10 were found. The centroid locations of positive and negative map areas extracted as landscape descriptors. Significant differences (MANOVAs and t-tests) between the two prestimulus classes were found in four of the ten ERP microstates. The relative orientation of the two ERP microstate classes was the same as prestimulus in some ERP microstates, but reversed in others. Thus, brain electric microstates at stimulus arrival influence the landscapes of the post-stimulus ERP maps and therefore, information processing; prestimulus microstate effects differed for different post-stimulus ERP microstates.

Adult↗

A robust assessment of the NoGo-anteriorisation of P300 microstates in a cued Continuous Performance Test.

The Continuous Performance Test (CPT) is successfully applied in clinical routine to evaluate attentional performance. The aim of the present study was to investigate the features of the ERPs related to the conditions of a cued CPT, in particular the Go- and the NoGo-condition demanding either the execution or the inhibition of a prepared motor response. For that purpose, 21-channel-ERPs of ten healthy subjects elicited by the Go, NoGo, primer and distractor cues were analyzed with reference-independent methods. The P300 microstates were identified by means of a data-driven segmentation of the ERPs based on the individual peaks of the Global Field Power (GFP). The topographical assessment of the P300 fields yielded an extraordinarily robust result consisting of a more anterior location of the positive centroid in the NoGo compared to the Go condition in every single subject. In conclusion, this result is an impressive validation of the applied reference-independent spatial analysis which reveals the rapid changes of the brain electrical field configurations related to the execution/inhibition paradigm within the cued CPT. Because of the stability of the NoGo anteriorisation we propose to use this parameter as a topographical standard index, analogous to the amplitude effect between oddball targets and nontargets which defines the classical P300.

Adult↗

Zopiclone versus diazepam effects on EEG power maps in healthy volunteers.

EEG effects of zopiclone (7.5 mg), a cyclopyrrolone derivative with hypnotic action, were compared with effects of diazepam (10 mg). Multichannel EEG recordings, double-blind crossover trials with placebo, and oral single doses were used in healthy volunteers. Vigilance-controlled EEG before and after zopiclone (and placebo), and before and after diazepam (and placebo) were analyzed into FFT power spectra. Effects were assessed as placebo-referred pre-post-medication power differences in four frequency bands. Overall statistics showed significant (P < 0.007) global differences between medication effects in the delta frequency band (0.5-3.5 Hz). After zopiclone, fronto-central delta increased bilaterally, whereas after diazepam delta decreased over centro-parietal to right temporo-occipital regions. These spatially different brain electric effects show that different neuronal populations must have become active in response to zopiclone and diazepam.

Adult↗

Mapping event-related brain potential microstates to sentence endings.

We analyzed topography and strength of 20 channel event-related potential maps to sentence endings differing in correctness, verbal vs. nonverbal surface form, priming, and repetition count. Seventeen healthy subjects silently read correct and incorrect versions of simple sentences with predictable color endings, and of more complex sentences with predictable composite word endings. Color endings appeared in verbal and nonverbal form. Measures of map topography (centroids of the positive and negative areas of the average referenced maps) and strength (Global Field Power) were analyzed. Adaptive segmentation distinguished a pre-N400 and a N400 microstate in the N400 time range. Topography differed between these two microstates, between verbal and nonverbal endings, and between correct color, incorrect color, and incorrect noncolor words. All verbal endings evoked left-laterlized negativity and right lateralized positivity in the pre-N400 microstates. Correct verbal endings evoked consistent posterior postivity and anterior negativity with left-lateralized gradient strength suggesting language-specific processing. New, incorrect noncolor words evoked reversed anterior-posterior N400 and pre-N400 map topographies with more anterior positivity and more posterior negativity than correct colors in each subject. Gradient strength and current source density maps also differed from those to correct colors. Strongest gradients were left-posterior in the pre-N400 but anterior in the N400 microstate, consistent with anterior activity contributing to the posterior N400 negativity. Incorrect and correct colors, which were semantically primed and repeated, showed smaller topographic differences and N400 effects with a different topography. These different maps can not arise by modulation of a single pattern of neural activity and show that the N400 time range consists of multiple distinct microstates.

Adult↗

The effect of D-amphetamine, clonidine, and yohimbine on human information processing.

Twelve subjects were tested with D-amphetamine, yohimbine, clonidine, and a placebo on a task with two levels of stimulus and two levels of response complexity. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that noradrenergic drugs affect early stimulus processes. D-amphetamine speeded reaction time (RT), clonidine slowed it, and yohimbine had no effect. D-amphetamine and yohimbine decreased N1 latency and clonidine increased it. D-amphetamine and yohimbine decreased P3 latency and clonidine increased it but, in each case, only when latency estimates were based on single trials, not on averages. D-amphetamine's effect on RT, not P3, as measured by the average, is consistent with previous results. Single trial measures appear more sensitive. Speeding of N1 and single-trial P3 data indicate that noradrenergic drugs affect processing of early (visual) information. D-amphetamine's speeding of single-trial P3 estimates was attributed to its noradrenergic actions. Yohimbine's speeding of P3 without changing RT is consistent with neural net (parallel) simulations but not with a serial model. These findings support the assumption that different neurotransmitters modulate specific cognitive processes.

Adult↗

Mapping brain electric micro-states in dyslexic children during reading.

An important issue in current research on dyslexia is to what extent the reading deficits of dyslexic children are related to processing deficits at the sensory-visual level, at the cognitive-linguistic level or at both levels. Event-related potential mapping distinguishes the split-second processing stages during reading as brief brain-electric micro-states and can address this issue directly. Previously, conventional studies have yielded inconsistent patterns of event-related potential differences between dyslexic and control children, but most of these discrepancies could result from the widely differing methodologies. We used event-related potential mapping during silent reading of correct and incorrect sentence endings to examine the neurophysiology of sensory and cognitive processes in dyslexic and control children (n = 12/group). Selected findings from spatio-temporal analyses of map strength (global field power), map latency and map topography measured in three dimensions are presented. Both sensory-visual processes in a P110 micro-state and cognitive-linguistic processes in an early N400 micro-state were affected in dyslexic children, and processing delays, as well as qualitatively different patterns of neural activation, were found. Our findings also indicated that the use of specific cognitive tasks and of appropriate spatio-temporal analyses of event-related map series are critical factors for successful identification of specific processing deficits in brain mapping studies.

Adolescent↗

Localization of sources of brain alpha/theta/delta activity and the influence of the mode of spontaneous mentation.

A method is described that accounts for multichannel brain field data (EEG) epochs, after transformation into the frequency domain, by a single oscillating dipole source in terms of phase angles. The method produces a potential distribution for each frequency point ('FFT dipole approximation'). These maps can be subjected to conventional equivalent dipole source fittings in terms of amplitudes. We studied the equivalent source locations for the different temporal EEG frequency bands (delta/theta/alpha) in 12 normal subjects during the collection of reports of spontaneous thoughts. Some of the thought reports were classed into two modes, 'visual imagery' and 'abstract', and the associated equivalent source locations during the 2 s immediately prior to these reports were computed. Different equivalent source locations were found for the different spectral components of the EEG, implying that different neural generator populations generate the different frequencies. Further, the different types of spontaneous thought, i.e. different modes of cortical functioning, were found to be associated with the activity of different neuronal generator sources that operated at the same frequency at different source locations.

Alpha Rhythm↗