scholarly journals Neurological Markers of Maladaptive Brain Activity in Fibromyalgia and their Relationship with Treatment Effectiveness

10.36850/rga5 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elia Valentini

Chronic pain (CP) is estimated to affect at least one-third of the population in the United Kingdom. Fibromyalgia (FM) is one of the most disabling CP conditions. Epidemiological research suggests its global prevalence to be between 2-8%. The unknown pathogenesis, lack of biological markers to monitor its development, and lack of successful treatment make FM a crucial target of pre-clinical research.The goal of this project is twofold. The project aims to 1) identify robust neurological markers (i.e., electrochemical brain activity) by applying a combination of advanced electroencephalography (EEG) signal processing (i.e., functional connectivity of oscillatory activity) and neuroinflammatory (NI) responses (i.e., estimation of pro-inflammatory cytokines intake), through which 2) characterizing successfully and unsuccessfully treated FM patients (compared to age-matched healthy controls). These measures, seldom combined, have been successfully applied to the study of psychiatric conditions and sleep. Crucially, the identification of neurological markers at rest and during arousing sensory stimulation will allow us to estimate the relationship between these neurological markers and treatment effectiveness. This proposal is important because it aims to generate a robust pre-clinical neurological tool to identify FM and its relationship with measures of treatment effectiveness. The successful identification of neurological markers will improve the assessment of the development of maladaptive changes in FM and will kick-start further research on treatment effectiveness.This project is of great medical relevance as it will identify pathological signatures of FM that can then inform research on etiology and treatment of this condition.

2013 ◽  
Vol 756-759 ◽  
pp. 1753-1757
Author(s):  
Gui Xin Zhang ◽  
Ping Dong Wu ◽  
Man Ling Huang

Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) could make people control machine through EEG which is produced by the brain activity, and it provide a new communication method between human and machine. The research for BMI will extend the ability of communication and control the environment and machine. The key point of the BMI is how to abstract and distinguish different EEG characters. Therefore, EEG signal processing method is the emphasis of BMI. Wavelet Transform and Hilbert-Huang Transform are used to analyze the EEG signal in this paper. The results indicate that these two methods could abstract the main characters of the EEG, but the Hilbert-Huang Transform could express the distributing status in the time and frequency aspect of the EEG more accurately, because it produces the self-adaptive basis according the data, and obtain the local and instantaneous frequency of the EEG.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Pouryazdian

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is widely used for monitoring, diagnosis purposes and also for study of brains physiological, mental and functional abnormalities. EEG is known to be a high-dimensional signal in which processing of information by the brain is reected in dynamical changes of the electrical activity in time, frequency, and space. EEG signal processing tends to describe and quantify these variations into functions with known spatio-temporal-spectral properties or at least easier to characterize. Multi-channel EEG recordings naturally include multiple modes. Matrix analysis, via stacking or concatenating other modes with the retained two modes, has been extensively used to represent and analyze the EEG data. On the other hand, Multi-way (tensor) analysis techniques keep the structure of the data, and by analyzing more dimensions simultaneously, summarize the data into more interpretable components. This work presents a generalized multi-way array analysis methodology in pattern classification systems as related to source separation and discriminant feature selection in EEG signal processing problems. Analysis of ERPs, as one of the main categories of EEG signals, requires systems that can exploit the variation of the signals in different contextual domains in order to reveal the hidden structures in the data. Temporal, spectral, spatial, and subjects/experimental conditions of multi-channel ERP signals are exploited here to generate three-way and four-way ERP tensors. Two key elements of this framework are the Time-Frequency representation (TFR) and CANDECOMP/PARAFAC model order selection techniques we incorporate for analysis. Here, we propose a fully data-driven TFR scheme, via combining the Empirical Mode Decomposition and Reassignment method, which yields a high resolution and cross-term free TFR. Furthermore, we develop a robust and effective model order selection scheme that outperforms conventional techniques in mid and low SNRs (i.e. 0􀀀10 dB) with a better Probability of Detection (PoD) and almost no extra computational overhead after the CANDECOMP/PARAFAC decomposition. ERP tensor can be regarded as a mixture that includes different kinds of brain activity, artifacts, interference, and noise. Using this framework, the desired brain activity could be extracted out from the mixture. The extracted signatures are then translated for different applications in brain-computer interface and cognitive neuroscience.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Pouryazdian

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is widely used for monitoring, diagnosis purposes and also for study of brains physiological, mental and functional abnormalities. EEG is known to be a high-dimensional signal in which processing of information by the brain is reected in dynamical changes of the electrical activity in time, frequency, and space. EEG signal processing tends to describe and quantify these variations into functions with known spatio-temporal-spectral properties or at least easier to characterize. Multi-channel EEG recordings naturally include multiple modes. Matrix analysis, via stacking or concatenating other modes with the retained two modes, has been extensively used to represent and analyze the EEG data. On the other hand, Multi-way (tensor) analysis techniques keep the structure of the data, and by analyzing more dimensions simultaneously, summarize the data into more interpretable components. This work presents a generalized multi-way array analysis methodology in pattern classification systems as related to source separation and discriminant feature selection in EEG signal processing problems. Analysis of ERPs, as one of the main categories of EEG signals, requires systems that can exploit the variation of the signals in different contextual domains in order to reveal the hidden structures in the data. Temporal, spectral, spatial, and subjects/experimental conditions of multi-channel ERP signals are exploited here to generate three-way and four-way ERP tensors. Two key elements of this framework are the Time-Frequency representation (TFR) and CANDECOMP/PARAFAC model order selection techniques we incorporate for analysis. Here, we propose a fully data-driven TFR scheme, via combining the Empirical Mode Decomposition and Reassignment method, which yields a high resolution and cross-term free TFR. Furthermore, we develop a robust and effective model order selection scheme that outperforms conventional techniques in mid and low SNRs (i.e. 0􀀀10 dB) with a better Probability of Detection (PoD) and almost no extra computational overhead after the CANDECOMP/PARAFAC decomposition. ERP tensor can be regarded as a mixture that includes different kinds of brain activity, artifacts, interference, and noise. Using this framework, the desired brain activity could be extracted out from the mixture. The extracted signatures are then translated for different applications in brain-computer interface and cognitive neuroscience.


2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Włodzimierz Klonowski ◽  
Pawel Stepien ◽  
Robert Stepien

Over 20 years ago, Watt and Hameroff (1987 ) suggested that consciousness may be described as a manifestation of deterministic chaos in the brain/mind. To analyze EEG-signal complexity, we used Higuchi’s fractal dimension in time domain and symbolic analysis methods. Our results of analysis of EEG-signals under anesthesia, during physiological sleep, and during epileptic seizures lead to a conclusion similar to that of Watt and Hameroff: Brain activity, measured by complexity of the EEG-signal, diminishes (becomes less chaotic) when consciousness is being “switched off”. So, consciousness may be described as a manifestation of deterministic chaos in the brain/mind.


2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (4) ◽  
pp. 1234-1242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Belardinelli ◽  
Ramin Azodi-Avval ◽  
Erick Ortiz ◽  
Georgios Naros ◽  
Florian Grimm ◽  
...  

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an effective treatment for symptomatic Parkinson’s disease (PD); the clinical benefit may not only mirror modulation of local STN activity but also reflect consecutive network effects on cortical oscillatory activity. Moreover, STN-DBS selectively suppresses spatially and spectrally distinct patterns of synchronous oscillatory activity within cortical-subcortical loops. These STN-cortical circuits have been described in PD patients using magnetoencephalography after surgery. This network information, however, is currently not available during surgery to inform the implantation strategy.The authors recorded spontaneous brain activity in 3 awake patients with PD (mean age 67 ± 14 years; mean disease duration 13 ± 7 years) during implantation of DBS electrodes into the STN after overnight withdrawal of dopaminergic medication. Intraoperative propofol was discontinued at least 30 minutes prior to the electrophysiological recordings. The authors used a novel approach for performing simultaneous recordings of STN local field potentials (LFPs) and multichannel electroencephalography (EEG) at rest. Coherent oscillations between LFP and EEG sensors were computed, and subsequent dynamic imaging of coherent sources was performed.The authors identified coherent activity in the upper beta range (21–35 Hz) between the STN and the ipsilateral mesial (pre)motor area. Coherence in the theta range (4–6 Hz) was detected in the ipsilateral prefrontal area.These findings demonstrate the feasibility of detecting frequency-specific and spatially distinct synchronization between the STN and cortex during DBS surgery. Mapping the STN with this technique may disentangle different functional loops relevant for refined targeting during DBS implantation.


Author(s):  
Rosa Ritunnano ◽  
Lisa Bortolotti

AbstractDelusions are often portrayed as paradigmatic instances of incomprehensibility and meaninglessness. Here we investigate the relationship between delusions and meaning from a philosophical perspective, integrating arguments and evidence from cognitive psychology and phenomenological psychopathology. We review some of the empirical and philosophical literature relevant to two claims about delusions and meaning: (1) delusions are meaningful, despite being described as irrational and implausible beliefs; (2) some delusions can also enhance the sense that one’s life is meaningful, supporting agency and creativity in some circumstances. Delusions are not incomprehensible representations of reality. Rather, they can help make sense of one’s unusual experiences and in some circumstances even support one’s endeavours, albeit temporarily and imperfectly. Acknowledging that delusions have meaning and can also give meaning to people’s lives has implications for our understanding of psychotic symptoms and for addressing the stigma associated with psychiatric conditions.


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