CONTROL ASPECTS OF A THEORETICAL MODEL FOR EPILEPTIC SEIZURES

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (07) ◽  
pp. 2013-2027 ◽  
Author(s):  
KOSTAS TSAKALIS ◽  
LEON IASEMIDIS
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Brain Circuitry ◽  
And Control ◽  
Functional Mechanisms ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Term Objective

We discuss the key features of theoretical models of networks of coupled chaotic oscillators that produce seizure-like events and bear striking similarities to dynamics of epileptic seizures. Our long-term objective is to understand the basic functional mechanisms that can produce seizures and may ultimately lead to strategies for seizure suppression and control. We show that, from a dynamical systems point of view, a plausible cause of seizures is a pathological feedback in the brain circuitry. This suggests new seizure control approaches, as well as systematic methods to tune existing ones. While the suggested models and control approaches are far from being considered optimal for epileptic seizures, they have interesting physical interpretation and implications for treatments of epilepsy. They also have close ties with a variety of recent practical observations in the human and animal epileptic brain, and with theories from adaptive systems, optimization and chaos.

scholarly journals evolution of thesauri and the history of knowledge organization

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier Garcia Marco
Keyword(s):  
User Interface ◽  
Resource Discovery ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Knowledge Mapping ◽  
History Of Knowledge ◽  
Internet Searching ◽  
Search Processes ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Control

Thesauri are considered as an optimum between maximum ontological modelling (best knowledge mapping) and minimal alphabetic ordering (less expensive access). From this point of view a swift history of its evolution is provided. The recent evolutions in Internet searching are also analysed from this perspective. In this context, there is an immediate role for thesauri to ensure interoperability and feed up the new Internet semantic engines; and in the long term as a simple semantic user interface for resource discovery and navigation, which ensures proper transparency and control by the user who wants to take the effort to supervise and analyse its search processes. It is proposed that better devices for ensuring semantic sorting are provided when necessary, and that a distributed hub for thesauri interconnection is provided, perhaps using the existent big open Internet semantic facilities, as Wikipedia

Naturalism and Kantianism

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-123
Author(s):  
Valentin A. Bazhanov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Brain Research ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Long Term Results ◽  
External Data ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Brain

An article by T. Rockmore, published in the journal “Epistemology and Philosophy of Science” in 2009 (Vol. XXII. No. 4, pp. 14‒29), claim that naturalism is by its nature an example of anti-Kantianism, for it treats philosophy as a continuation science and recognizes science as a legitimate source of knowledge, does not allow a priori, relies on an a posteriori approach, empiricism in the pre-Kantian sense, and insists on the possibility of revising the knowledge acquired. This article has a goal to show that T. Rockmore point of view should be revised due to the progress of modern cognitive research and, first of all, neuroscience, in which all the features of the naturalistic approach are implemented and in which the “Kantian program” of brain research is developed. In the context of this program, the existence on the ontological level (i.e., in the brain) of certain neural structures that make it possible and play a crucial role in the cognitive activity of a person is recognized. Those concepts that Kant treated as components of cognitive activity in modern neuroscience acquired ontological status in the form of the activity of certain neural structures, which turn out to be prerequisites and components of this activity. We claim that in the context of the Kantian research program in neuroscience, the metaphor “Kantian brain” naturally entered the vocabulary of neuroscientists, and certain specific operations and functions of the brain began to be associated with individual elements of Kant's ideas. It is in this context attempts are made to comprehend the mechanisms of the brain in the “stimulus – activity” mode, when an external effect leads to the excitation of certain neural structures. The brain is capable to anticipate the long-term results of certain actions of the subject. In the case of foresight, the brain generates “internal” models and uses for their correction external data that constantly provided from reality across the subject. At the same time, some kind of self-correcting mechanisms implements, which from a formal point of view described by the Bayes theorem, using a priori evaluations of upcoming events and changes in these evaluations as result of experience. Thus, naturalism and Kantianism understood in the context of the progress of modern science, despite T. Rockmore idea, are completely compatible.

scholarly journals Platelet counts in epileptic children receiving valproic acid

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-7
Author(s):  
Lilik Indrayati ◽  
Fadhilah Tia Nur ◽  
Bambang Soebagyo
Keyword(s):  
Valproic Acid ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Term Treatment ◽  
Common Adverse Event ◽  
Platelet Counts ◽  
Central Java ◽  
Long Term Treatment ◽  
Epileptic Children ◽  
The Brain

Background Epileptic seizures are a transient occurrence resulting from abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neural activity in the brain. Epilepsy requires long-term treatment, increasingly larger doses, and combination therapy. Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs), especially valproic acid (VPA), are the main treatment of choice. Thrombocytopenia is the most common adverse event from AEDs. Objective To evaluate platelet counts in epileptic children receiving valproic acid monotherapy vs. polytherapy. Methods This analytic, observational, retrospective cohort study was conducted in children with epilepsy below 18 years of age and treated in Dr. Moewardi Hospital, Surakarta, Central Java. Subjects had received VPA treatment for at least 6 months, either as monotherapy or polytherapy. There were 40 subjects in each group (VPA monotherapy vs. VPA polytherapy). The exclusion criteria were patients who had thrombocytopenia and did not take valproic acid regularly. The data was taken from laboratory and the outcome assessed was decreasing of platelet count. Results  Administration of VPA as monotherapy vs. polytherapy was not significantly associated with incidence of thrombocytopenia. However, duration of VPA use > 2 years was associated with significantly greater proportion of thrombocytopenia, with OR 33.0 (95%CI 4.157 to 261.962; P=0.001) compared to VPA use < 2 years. Similarly, VPA dose of >30 mg/kg/day was significantly associated with greater proportion of thrombocytopenia, with OR 4.081 (95%CI 1.337 to 12.458; P=0.013) compared to <30 mg/kg/day dosage. Conclusion Incidence of thrombocytopenia is not significantly different between VPA as a  monotherapy and polytherapy. However, higher VPA dose and longer VPA duration are associated with higher proportion of thrombocytopenia.

scholarly journals Persistent intrathecal interleukin-8 production in a patient with SARS-CoV-2-related encephalopathy presenting aphasia: a case report.

BMC Neurology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuya Kudo ◽  
Yuichi Hayashi ◽  
Kenjiro Kunieda ◽  
Nobuaki Yoshikura ◽  
Akio Kimura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Neurological Deficits ◽  
Central Nervous System Inflammation ◽  
Focal Neurological Deficit ◽  
Case Presentation ◽  
Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein 1 ◽  
Monocyte Chemoattractant ◽  
Consciousness Disturbance ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Background Neurological manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are increasingly recognized and include encephalopathy, although direct infection of the brain by SARS-CoV-2 remains controversial. We herein report the clinical course and cytokine profiles of a patient with severe SARS-CoV-2-related encephalopathy presenting aphasia. Case presentation An 81-year-old man developed acute consciousness disturbance and status epileptics several days after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Following treatment with remdesivir and dexamethasone, his consciousness and epileptic seizures improved; however, amnestic aphasia and agraphia remained. Two months after methylprednisolone pulse and intravenous immunoglobulin, his neurological deficits improved. We found increased levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), but not IL-2 and IL-10 in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and the levels of serum IL-6 and MCP-1 were much higher than those in the CSF. The level of IL-8 in the CSF after immunotherapy was four times higher than that before immunotherapy. Conclusion The cytokine profile of our patient was similar to that seen in severe SARS-CoV-2-related encephalopathy. We demonstrated (i) that the characteristic aphasia can occur as a focal neurological deficit associated with SARS-CoV-2-related encephalopathy, and (ii) that IL8-mediated central nervous system inflammation follows systemic inflammation in SARS-CoV-2-related encephalopathy and can persist and worsen even after immunotherapy. Monitoring IL-8 in CSF, and long-term corticosteroids may be required for treating SARS-CoV-2-related encephalopathy.

scholarly journals Efficacy and Safety of a Ketogenic Diet in Children and Adolescents with Refractory Epilepsy—A Review

Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Wells ◽  
Arun Swaminathan ◽  
Jenna Paseka ◽  
Corrine Hanson
Keyword(s):  
Ketogenic Diet ◽  
Medium Chain Triglyceride ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Diet Therapy ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Individual Response ◽  
Modified Atkins Diet ◽  
Patients With Epilepsy ◽  
The Brain

Epilepsy in the pediatric and adolescent populations is a devastating condition where individuals are prone to recurrent epileptic seizures or changes in behavior or movement that is the direct result of a primary change in the electrical activity in the brain. Although many children with epilepsy will have seizures controlled with antiseizure medications (ASMs), a large percentage of patients are refractory to drug therapy and may consider initiating a ketogenic diet. The term Ketogenic Diet or Ketogenic Diet Therapy (KDT) refers to any diet therapy in which dietary composition results in a ketogenic state of human metabolism. Currently, there are 4 major Ketogenic diet therapies—the classic ketogenic diet (cKD), the modified Atkins diet (MAD), the medium chain triglyceride ketogenic diet (MCTKD) and the low glycemic index treatment (LGIT). The compositions of the 4 main KDTs differ and limited evidence to distinguish the efficacy among different diets currently exists. Although it is apparent that more randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and long-term studies are needed to evaluate efficacy, side effects and individual response to the diet, it is imperative to study and understand the metabolic profiles of patients with epilepsy in order to isolate which dietary restrictions are necessary to maximize clinical benefit.

scholarly journals Limbic Encephalitis Associated with COVID-19

Encyclopedia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-35
Author(s):  
Natalia A. Shnayder ◽  
Timur K. Sirbiladze ◽  
Irina V. Demko ◽  
Marina M. Petrova ◽  
Regina F. Nasyrova
Keyword(s):  
Memory Impairment ◽  
Limbic Encephalitis ◽  
Cognitive Disorders ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽  
Electroencephalogram Eeg ◽  
The Brain

Limbic encephalitis (LE) is an inflammatory disease of the brain, in which lesion is anatomically limited in structures of the limbic system. In some cases, LE can start with symptoms of limbic dysfunction with further involvement of other regions of the brain. Classic LE syndrome includes such symptoms as the development of personality disorders, depression, sleep disorders, epileptic seizures, hallucinations and cognitive disorders (short-term and long-term memory impairment). The information of clinical examination, electroencephalogram (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cerebrospinal fluid studies (CSF) suggest the diagnosis of LE in most patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Epileptic Seizure Detection and Classification Using Machine Learning

2019 ◽  
pp. 152-164
Author(s):  
Rekh Ram Janghel ◽  
Yogesh Kumar Rathore ◽  
Gautam Tatiparti
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Seizure Detection ◽  
The United States ◽  
Normal Brain ◽  
Great Success ◽  
Ann Models ◽  
Recognition Systems ◽  
The Brain

Epilepsy is a brain ailment identified by unpredictable interruptions of normal brain activity. Around 1% of mankind experience epileptic seizures. Around 10% of the United States population experiences at least a single seizure in their life. Epilepsy is distinguished by the tendency of the brain to generate unexpected bursts of unusual electrical activity that disrupts the normal functioning of the brain. As seizures usually occur rarely and are unforeseeable, seizure recognition systems are recommended for seizure detection during long-term electroencephalography (EEG). In this chapter, ANN models, namely, BPA, RNN, CL, PNN, and LVQ, have been implemented. A prominent dataset was employed to assess the proposed method. The proposed method is capable of achieving an accuracy of 97.5%; the high accuracy obtained has confirmed the great success of the method.

scholarly journals Critical slowing as a biomarker for seizure susceptibility

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matias I. Maturana ◽  
Christian Meisel ◽  
Katrina Dell ◽  
Philippa J. Karoly ◽  
Wendyl D’Souza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focal Epilepsy ◽  
Warning Signal ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Critical Transitions ◽  
Epileptiform Discharges ◽  
Brain Signals ◽  
Change State ◽  
Intracranial Electroencephalography ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThe human brain has the capacity to rapidly change state, and in epilepsy these state changes can be catastrophic, resulting in loss of consciousness, injury and even death. Theoretical interpretations considering the brain as a dynamical system would suggest that prior to a seizure recorded brain signals may exhibit critical slowing, a warning signal preceding many critical transitions in dynamical systems. Using long-term intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) recordings from fourteen patients with focal epilepsy, we found key signatures of critical slowing prior to seizures. Signals related to a critically slowing process fluctuated over temporally long scales (hours to days), longer than would be detectable in standard clinical evaluation settings. Seizure risk was associated with a combination of these signals together with epileptiform discharges. These results provide strong validation of theoretical models and demonstrate that critical slowing is a reliable indicator that could be used in seizure forecasting algorithms.

The neurobiology of addiction as a window on voluntary control of behavior and moral responsibility

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven E. Hyman
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Moral Responsibility ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Loss Of Control ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Drug Seeking ◽  
Brain Circuitry ◽  
Brain Reward ◽  
And Control

Many laboratories, working worldwide on both animal models and human subjects, have produced significant insights into the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie drug addiction. Addictive drugs produce pathologic activation of brain reward circuits, resulting in long-term alterations in brain circuitry involved in decision-making and control of behavior. The result is a loss of control over drug seeking and engagement in compulsive drug use despite negative consequences. This scientific view is in tension with moral models that see drug use by addicted people as a matter of errant choice combined with inadequate efforts at control. This chapter explores the implications of these models for moral responsibility and legal culpability, and discusses the urgent need for advances in treatment.

scholarly journals Prenatal, but not Postnatal, Curcumin Administration Rescues Neuromorphological and Cognitive Alterations in Ts65Dn Down Syndrome Mice

2020 ◽  
Vol 150 (9) ◽  
pp. 2478-2489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noemí Rueda ◽  
Verónica Vidal ◽  
Susana García-Cerro ◽  
Alba Puente ◽  
Víctor Campa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Brain Weight ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Female Progeny ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Cognitive Alterations

ABSTRACT Background The cognitive dysfunction in Down syndrome (DS) is partially caused by deficient neurogenesis during fetal stages. Curcumin enhances neurogenesis and learning and memory. Objectives We aimed to test the ability of curcumin to rescue the neuromorphological and cognitive alterations of the Ts65Dn (TS) mouse model of DS when administered prenatally or during early postnatal stages, and to evaluate whether these effects were maintained several weeks after the treatment. Methods To evaluate the effects of prenatal curcumin administration, 65 pregnant TS females were subcutaneously treated with curcumin (300 mg/kg) or vehicle from ED (Embryonic Day) 10 to PD (Postnatal Day) 2. All the analyses were performed on their TS and Control (CO) male and female progeny. At PD2, the changes in neurogenesis, cellularity, and brain weight were analyzed in 30 TS and CO pups. The long-term effects of prenatal curcumin were evaluated in another cohort of 44 TS and CO mice between PD30 and PD45. The neuromorphological effects of the early postnatal administration of curcumin were assessed on PD15 in 30 male and female TS and CO pups treated with curcumin (300 mg/kg) or vehicle from PD2 to PD15. The long-term neuromorphological and cognitive effects were assessed from PD60 to PD90 in 45 mice. Data was compared by ANOVAs. Results Prenatal administration of curcumin increased the brain weight (+45%, P &lt; 0.001), the density of BrdU (bromodeoxyuridine)- (+150%, P &lt; 0.001) and DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole)- (+38%, P = 0.005) positive cells, and produced a long-term improvement of cognition in TS (+35%, P = 0.007) mice with respect to vehicle-treated mice. Postnatal administration of curcumin did not rescue any of the short- or long-term altered phenotypes of TS mice. Conclusion The beneficial effects of prenatal curcumin administration to TS mice suggest that it could be a therapeutic strategy to treat DS cognitive disabilities.

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