Biomedical subjects

H Bahramali

Publications and source records attributed to H Bahramali.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1998

Fast and slow reaction times and associated ERPs in patients with schizophrenia and controls.

A number of studies have examined across-trial averaged late component. Event Related Potentials (EPR) and Reaction Times (RT) in response to multiple target stimuli. In this study, within-trial relatively fast and slow sub averages are additionally examined, in 20 patients with schizophrenia and 20 age and sex matched controls. A conventional auditory oddball paradigm. Across-trial ERP average analysis showed smaller N200 amplitude and delayed latency (but larger P200 amplitude) in patients with schizophrenia compared with controls. Within-trial ERP analysis revealed a number of additional findings. Controls showed distinctive differences in fast compared with slow ERP sub averages (smaller P200 amplitude, increased N200/P300 amplitudes and earlier latencies). The schizophrenic group on the other hand, showed relatively similar fast versus slow subaverages (no differences in P200 amplitude and N200 latency). In addition, between-group (within-trial) analyses highlighted significant differences in earlier stages of processing (compared with across-trial averages) in both fast and slow subaverages (increased N100 amplitude in controls). The complementary within-trial (compared with across-trial) data are interpreted with respect to a possible disturbance in inhibitory function in patients with schizophrenia.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Evoked related potentials associated with and without an orienting reflex.

Late component event related potentials (ERP) and concomitant electrodermal activity (EDA) measures of the orienting reflex (OR) were undertaken in 50 normal subjects. Our group recently developed a model to quantify electrodermal activity in conventional ERP paradigms (auditory oddball) with short interstimulus intervals (ISI). The method was used to classify the presence or absence of skin conductance response following each auditory target stimulus. Using a conventional paradigm in which data is traditionally averaged, single-trial target ERPs were sorted into those with a skin conductance response OR (ERP[+OR]) and those without (ERP[-OR]) an OR, and ERP sub-averages of the two groups were derived. The ERP(+OR) showed significantly larger P300 amplitudes and relatively earlier N200 and P300 latency than those of the ERP(-OR). These findings suggest that using concomitant SCR-ERP measures, separate ERP related processes can be determined, that are complementary to the traditional average measure.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Decomposing skin conductance into tonic and phasic components.

Overlapping phasic skin conductance responses (SCRs) obtained using short interstimulus interval (ISI) paradigms such as those employed in cognitive research, confound measurement of each discrete phasic SCR as well as the tonic skin conductance level (SCL). We report a method of resolving this problem using a modelling technique that takes advantage of the stereotyped nature of the within-subject SCR waveform. A four-parameter sigmoid-exponential SCR model that describes the entire response, was developed and extended to five-, six- and eight-parameter skin conductance (SC) models. These SC models were successfully curve-fitted to more than 60 SC segments, each containing one SCR or two overlapping SCRs on a sloping baseline obtained from 20 normal subjects. The SC segments were consequently decomposed into their components: the tail of the previous response, one or two SCRs and the SCL. The SCRs free of the complication of overlap were then quantified. The raw SCRs of the same data set were also measured using a standard method. The standard measurement showed a significant reduction of 15% in amplitude and 140 ms in peak latency compared to our method. The basic four SCR model parameters--onset time, rise time, decay time constant and gain--showed increasing inter-subject variability in that order. These SCR model parameters may be studied as variables in normal and patient groups and as indices of treatment response. This quantitative method also provides a means to assess the relationships between central and autonomic psychophysiologic measures.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Automatic processing dysfunction in Parkinson's disease.

Simultaneous measures of Event Related Potentials (ERP) and electrodermal activity (EDA) allow the delineation of ERPs that did, and did not, evoke an electrodermal 'Orienting Reflex' (OR). The OR is an automatic reflex invoked by novel or significant stimuli. Our group have developed a model to quantify electrodermal OR activity acquired in conventional late component ERP paradigms with short interstimulus intervals. Target late component (N100, P200, N200, P300) ERPs (acquired in an auditory oddball paradigm) and EDA was examined in 15 Parkinson's disease (PD) subjects and 50 normal controls. Single-trial target ERPs were averaged according to whether or not they elicited an electrodermal OR. Compared with controls, the PD group showed significantly decreased N100 and N200 amplitudes in the OR related ERPs ('Orienting ERPs'). These preliminary findings suggest that conventional late component ERPs can be delineated according to whether or not they evoked an OR. The 'orienting ERPs' in PD showed more significant disturbances compared with controls, than ERPs that did not evoke an OR.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of age on late components of the ERP and reaction time.

The effects of age on late component (N100, P200, N200, and P300) event-related potentials (ERP) and reaction time (RT) were investigated in 50 normal subjects, 18 to 70 years of age. A conventional auditory oddball paradigm was employed. An equal number of subjects, as well as an equal number of males and females, were examined in each decade. There were no significant associations found between ERP amplitude and age. A significant positive correlation was found between age and N200/P300 latency. There were no significant effects of age on RT in the overall group. However, females had slower RT and decreased P200 and N200 amplitude as compared with males. Moreover, males had significant correlations between N200 latency and RT, whereas females showed significant correlations between P300 amplitude and RT. ERP/RT effects should be further explicated between gender, as well as across age.

Adolescent↗