Comparison of Sensory-motor Rhythm and Movement Related Cortical Potential during Ballistic and Repetitive Motor Imagery

In this study, we compared two types of EEG modalities, sensory-motor rhythms(SMR) and movement related cortical potentials(MRCP), on four healthy subjects performing ballistic or repetitive movement imagination. The EEG waveform morphology across subjects was similar for MRCPs, whereas there was not a clear pattern for SMRs. The rank-sum test showed a significant difference between the amplitude of baseline and that of the MRCP as early as 2 s prior to imagery onset, for both types of motor imageries, indicating strong discriminative power of MRCPs for predicting movement onset. For SMR, this type of discriminative power was relatively weak and highly subject-specific. On the other hand, the SMR landscape under the two movement imagery types was distinctive, holding a potential for discriminating the two movement imagery types. These preliminary results presented different characteristics of SMR and MRCP under different motor imageries, providing valuable information regarding the design and implementation of motor imagery based on BCI system.

Nerve biopsy findings contribute to diagnosis of multiple mononeuropathy: 78% of findings support clinical diagnosis

Multiple mononeuropathy is an unusual form of peripheral neuropathy involving two or more nerve trunks. It is a syndrome with many different causes. We reviewed the clinical, electrophysi- ological and nerve biopsy findings of 14 patients who suffered from multiple mononeuropathy in our clinic between January 2009 and June 2013. Patients were diagnosed with vasculitic neurop- athy （n = 6）, perineuritis （n = 2）, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy （n = 2） or Lewis-Sumner syndrome （n = 1） on the basis of clinical features, laboratory data, elec- trophysiological investigations and nerve biopsies. Two patients who were clinically diagnosed with vasculitic neuropathy and one patient who was clinically diagnosed with chronic inflamma- tory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy were not confirmed by nerve biopsy. Nerve biopsies confirmed clinical diagnosis in 78.6% of the patients （11/14）. Nerve biopsy pathological diagno- sis is crucial to the etiological diagnosis of multiple mononeuropathy.

The Effect of the MNRI Method on Neurotransmitter Biomarkers of Individuals with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Introduction: The MNRI (Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Integration) method was developed in 1989 in Russia and has spread world-wide to treat individuals with certain types reflex development deficits, behavior disorders, disorders of speech or language development, and learning disabilities. MNRI is based on techniques called “repatterning” or remodulation, meaning re-education, recoding the reflex nerve pathways specific for dynamic and postural reflex schemes. Objectives: Repatterning activates the extra pyramidal nervous system responsible for automatic mechanisms and processes, the extension of links between neurons, the growth of neural nets, myelination, and the creation of new nerve routing. This potential result was tested utilizing urinary measurements of the following neurotransmitters: epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, DOPAC, serotonin, 5-HIAA, glycine, taurine, GABA, glutamate, PEA, and histamine. Methods: Neurological impact of the Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Method on the magnitude of changes in neurotransmitters was assessed by an external controlled and double-blind method using patients from one of the four diagnosis groups: 1) global developmental disorders;2) cerebral palsy, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Acute Brain Injury (ABI), and seizures;3) ADD/ADHD;and 4) anxiety disorders. Results: The post-MNRI results in participants show a tendency for regulation of the above neurotransmitters resulting in their calming down, decrease of hypervigilance, stress resilience increase, improvements in behavioral and emotional regulation, positive emotions, and cognitive processes control. Conclusion: The application of the Masgutova Neurosensorimotor Reflex Method as a therapy modality offers a novelty paradigm for the treatment using neuro- and immune-modulation technologies presenting a non-pharmaceutical approach, based on use of neurosensorimotor reflex circuit concept.

The Application of Scales in the Diagnosis of Perceived Needs in the Elderly with Mild Cognitive Impairment

The study evaluated the use of the Mini-Mental State Examination scale (MMSE), Tinettiscale, and Motor Scale for the Elderly (EMTI) toassist in the diagnosis of potential needs observed in elderlies with Mild Cognitive Impairment. This was aquasi-experimental research, conducted in a Basic Health Unit in thecityof Rio de Janeiro in 2014. The sample population consisted of 22 elderlies aged 64 to 88 years and 86.36% females. The SAS statistical software (version 9.3.1) and Kruskal-Wallis test were used at a 95% confidence interval and a significance level of 0.05 and demonstrated significant differences in the evaluations performed before and after the intervention. The detected diagnoses were: impaired memory, the risk of falls, and willingness to improved relationships, among others. The evaluations showed MMSE results that were suggestive of cognitive impairment in 22.73% of the elderlies;the Tinetti scale showed a high risk of falls in 31.82% of theelderlies;and EMTI with 88.36 points, which was equivalent to the normal low classification. The intervention took place through ten weekly activity sessions after the initial evaluations. In the second evaluation, the Tinetti showed 59.09% of the elderlies with a moderate risk of falls and the EMTI as the normal average classification with 90.32 points. It was concluded that the scales offered diagnostic possibilities, which allowed for the implementation of necessary interventions according to the detected problems.

Personality–brain connection:Based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data-driven exploration

Background:The personality-brain association mechanism has been a topic of interest in the field of neuroscience.Usually,the previous research strategy was to first group the population based on different personality traits,and then explore the brain mechanisms corresponding to different personality groups.At present,a“brain-first”research strategy,which uses data-driven approaches instead of personality traits to first group the population,has been adopted to further enhance study objectivity.Methods:Here,we used a data-driven approach following the“brain-first”research strategy to deeply mine the resting-state brain functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 119 healthy participants,classified subjects into different groups based on brain image characteristics,and used the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire to explain the variabilities of resting-state brain characteristics between different groups.Results:We have identified 3 personality–brain connections,including the privateness–left frontoparietal network,liveliness–sensory–motor network,and vigilance–sensory–motor network.Conclusion:We conclude that the above-mentioned three personality factors are based on brain neural activity,independent of the subjective experience of the personality scale creator,and have stronger explanatory power of brain imaging features.

Resting-state functional connectivity in lifelong musicians

Background:It has been postulated that musicianship can lead to enhanced brain and cognitive reserve,but the neural mechanisms of this effect have been poorly understood.Lifelong professional musicianship in conjunction with novel brain imaging techniques offers a unique opportunity to examine brain network differences between musicians and matched controls.Objective:In this study we aim to investigate how resting-state functional networks(FNs)manifest in lifelong active musicians.We will evaluate the FNs of lifelong musicians and matched healthy controls using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.Methods:We derive FNs using the data-driven independent component analysis approach and analyze the functional network con-nectivity(FNC)between the default mode(DMN),sensory-motor(SMN),visual(VSN),and auditory(AUN)networks.We examine whether the linear regressions between FNC and age are different between the musicians and the control group.Results:The age trajectory of average FNC across all six pairs of FNs shows significant differences between musicians and controls.Musicians show an increase in average FNC with age while controls show a decrease(P=0.013).When we evaluated each pair of FN,we note that in musicians FNC values increased with age in DMN–AUN,DMN–VSN,and SMN–VSN and in controls FNC values decreased with age in DMN–AUN,DMN–SMN,AUN–SMN,and SMN–VSN.Conclusion:This result provides early evidence that lifelong musicianship may contribute to enhanced brain and cognitive reserve.Results of this study are preliminary and need to be replicated with a larger number of participants.

Hereditary Transthyretin Amyloidosis in Eight Chinese Families

Background： Mutations of transthyretin （TTR） cause the most common type of autosomal-dominant hereditary systemic amyloidosis, which occurs worldwide. To date, more and more mutations in the TTR gene have been reported. Some variations in the clinical presentation are often observed in patients with the same mutation or the patients in the same family. The purpose of this study was to find out the clinicopathologic and genetic features of Chinese patients with hereditary TTR amyloidosis. Methods： Clinical and necessary examination materials were collected from nine patients of eight families with hereditary TTR amyloidosis at Peking University First Hospital from January 2007 to November 2014. Sural nerve biopsies were taken for eight patients and skin biopsies were taken in the calf/upper arm for two patients, for light and electron microscopy examination. The TTR genes from the nine patients were analyzed. Results： The onset age varied from 23 to 68 years. The main manifestations were paresthesia, proximal and/or distal weakness, autonomic dysfunction, cardiomyopathy, vitreous opacity, hearing loss, and glossohypertrophia. Nerve biopsy demonstrated severe loss ofmyelinated fibers in seven cases and amyloid deposits in three. One patient had skin amyloid deposits which were revealed from electron microscopic examination. Genetic analysis showed six kinds of mutations of TTR gene, including Val30Met, Phe33Leu, Ala36Pro, Val30Ala, Phe33Val, and Glu42Gly in exon 2. Conclusions： Since the pathological examinations ofsural nerve were negative for amyloid deposition in most patients, the screening for TTR mutations should be performed in all the adult patients, who are clinically suspected with hereditary TTR amyloidosis.