Browsing by Keyword "Biological Psychiatry"
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Item Chronic stroke recovery after combined BCI training and physiotherapy: A case report(2011-04) Caria, Andrea; Weber, Cornelia; Brötz, Doris; Ramos, Ander; Ticini, Luca F.; Gharabaghi, Alireza; Braun, Christoph; Birbaumer, Niels; Medical TechnologiesA case of partial recovery after stroke and its associated brain reorganization in a chronic patient after combined brain computer interface (BCI) training and physiotherapy is presented. A multimodal neuroimaging approach based on fMRI and diffusion tensor imaging was used to investigate plasticity of the brain motor system in parallel with longitudinal clinical assessments. A convergent association between functional and structural data in the ipsilesional premotor areas was observed. As a proof of concept investigation, these results encourage further research on a specific role of BCI on brain plasticity and recovery after stroke.Item Cortex integrity relevance in muscle synergies in severe chronic stroke(2014-09-23) García-Cossio, Eliana; Broetz, Doris; Birbaumer, Niels; Ramos-Murguialday, Ander; Medical TechnologiesBackground: Recent experimental evidence has indicated that the motor system coordinates muscle activations through a linear combination of muscle synergies that are specified at the spinal or brainstem networks level. After stroke upper limb impairment is characterized by abnormal patterns of muscle activations or synergies.Objective: This study aimed at characterizing the muscle synergies in severely affected chronic stroke patients. Furthermore, the influence of integrity of the sensorimotor cortex on synergy modularity and its relation with motor impairment was evaluated. Methods: Surface electromyography from 33 severely impaired chronic stroke patients was recorded during 6 bilateral movements. Muscle synergies were extracted and synergy patterns were correlated with motor impairment scales. Results: Muscle synergies extracted revealed different physiological patterns dependent on the preservation of the sensorimotor cortex. Patients without intact sensorimotor cortex showed a high preservation of muscle synergies. On the contrary, patients with intact sensorimotor cortex showed poorer muscle synergies preservation and an increase in new generated synergies. Furthermore, the preservation of muscle synergies correlated positively with hand functionality in patients with intact sensorimotor cortex and subcortical lesions only. Conclusion: Our results indicate that severely paralyzed chronic stroke patient with intact sensorimotor cortex might sculpt new synergy patterns as a response to maladaptive compensatory strategies.Item Epidural electrocorticography for monitoring of arousal in locked-in state(2014-10-21) Martens, Suzanne; Bensch, Michael; Halder, Sebastian; Hill, Jeremy; Nijboer, Femke; Ramos-Murguialday, Ander; Schoelkopf, Bernhard; Birbaumer, Niels; Gharabaghi, Alireza; Medical TechnologiesElectroencephalography (EEG) often fails to assess both the level (i.e., arousal) and the content (i.e., awareness) of pathologically altered consciousness in patients without motor responsiveness. This might be related to a decline of awareness, to episodes of low arousal and disturbed sleep patterns, and/or to distorting and attenuating effects of the skull and intermediate tissue on the recorded brain signals. Novel approaches are required to overcome these limitations. We introduced epidural electrocorticography (ECoG) for monitoring of cortical physiology in a late-stage amytrophic lateral sclerosis patient in completely locked-in state (CLIS). Despite long-term application for a period of six months, no implant-related complications occurred. Recordings from the left frontal cortex were sufficient to identify three arousal states. Spectral analysis of the intrinsic oscillatory activity enabled us to extract state-dependent dominant frequencies at < 4, ∼7 and ∼20 Hz, representing sleep-like periods, and phases of low and elevated arousal, respectively. In the absence of other biomarkers, ECoG proved to be a reliable tool for monitoring circadian rhythmicity, i.e., avoiding interference with the patient when he was sleeping and exploiting time windows of responsiveness. Moreover, the effects of interventions addressing the patient’s arousal, e.g., amantadine medication, could be evaluated objectively on the basis of physiological markers, even in the absence of behavioral parameters. Epidural ECoG constitutes a feasible trade-off between surgical risk and quality of recorded brain signals to gain information on the patient’s present level of arousal. This approach enables us to optimize the timing of interactions and medical interventions, all of which should take place when the patient is in a phase of high arousal. Furthermore, avoiding low-responsiveness periods will facilitate measures to implement alternative communication pathways involving brain-computer interfaces (BCI).Item Movement related slow cortical potentials in severely paralyzed chronic stroke patients(2015-01-15) Yilmaz, Ozge; Birbaumer, Niels; Ramos-Murguialday, Ander; Medical TechnologiesMovement-related slow cortical potentials (SCPs) are proposed as reliable and immediate indicators of cortical reorganization in motor learning. SCP amplitude and latency have been reported as markers for the brain's computational effort, attention and movement planning. SCPs have been used as an EEG signature of motor control and as a main feature in Brain-Machine-Interfaces (BMIs). Some reports suggest SCPs are modified following stroke. In this study, we investigated movement-related SCPs in severe chronic stroke patients with no residual paretic hand movements preceding and during paretic (when they try to move) and healthy hand movements. The aim was to identify SCP signatures related to cortex integrity and complete paralysis due to stroke in the chronic stage. Twenty severely impaired (no residual finger extension) chronic stoke patients, of whom ten presented subcortical and ten cortical and subcortical lesions, underwent EEG and EMG recordings during a cue triggered hand movement (open/close) paradigm. SCP onset appeared and peaked significantly earlier during paretic hand movements than during healthy hand movements. Amplitudes were significantly larger over the midline (Cz, Fz) for paretic hand movements while contralateral (C4, F4) and midline (Cz, Fz) amplitudes were significantly larger than ipsilateral activity for healthy hand movements. Dividing the participants into subcortical only and mixed lesioned patient groups, no significant differences observed in SCP amplitude and latency between groups. This suggests lesions in the thalamocortical loop as the main factor in SCP changes after stroke. Furthermore, we demonstrated how, after long-term complete paralysis, post-stroke intention to move a paralyzed hand resulted in longer and larger SCPs originating in the frontal areas. These results suggest SCP are a valuable feature that should be incorporated in the design of new neurofeedback strategies for motor neurorehabilitation.