Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Neurosci Methods 2019 Jan 14;311:318-330. Epub 2018 Aug 14.

Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, 3001, Leuven, Belgium.

Background: Predicting sensorimotor upper limb outcome receives continued attention in stroke. Neurophysiological measures by electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) could increase the accuracy of predicting sensorimotor upper limb recovery.

New Method: The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the current evidence for EEG/MEG-based measures to index neural activity after stroke and the relationship between abnormal neural activity and sensorimotor upper limb impairment. Read More

Brain Res Bull 2018 03 2;137:351-355. Epub 2018 Feb 2.

Institute of Neuroscience, The Medical School, Newcastle University, NE2 4HH, UK; Department of Neurology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4LP, UK; Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4LP, UK. Electronic address:

Introduction: High frequency oscillations (HFOs) embedded within the somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) are not routinely recorded/measured as part of standard clinical SEPs. However, HFOs could provide important additional diagnostic/prognostic information in various patient groups in whom SEPs are tested routinely. One area is the management of patients with hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) in the intensive care unit (ICU). Read More

J Clin Monit Comput 2018 Oct 20;32(5):889-895. Epub 2017 Dec 20.

Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY, 10021, USA.

This is a pilot study to assess the clinical safety and efficacy of recording real-time flash visual evoked potentials (VEPs) using the SightSaver Visual Stimulator mask during prone spine surgery. A prospective, observational pilot study. Twenty patients presenting for spine surgery (microdiscectomy, 1-2 level lumbar fusion, or > 2 levels thoraco-lumbar fusion) were enrolled. Read More

Mult Scler 2017 Oct;23(12):1600-1613

Neurologic Clinic and Policlinic, Departments of Medicine, Biomedicine and Clinical Research, University Hospital of Basel, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by insidious clinical worsening that is difficult to accurately quantify and predict. Biofluid markers and electrophysiological measures are potential candidate outcome measures in clinical trials, allowing the quantification of nervous damage occurring in the disease. Neurofilaments are highly specific neuronal proteins. Read More

Psychophysiology 2017 06 7;54(6):848-856. Epub 2017 Feb 7.

CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.

It is well known that sensory perception can be attenuated when sensory stimuli are controlled by self-initiated actions. This phenomenon is explained by the consistency between forward models of anticipated action effects and actual sensory feedback. Specifically, the brain state related to the binding between motor processing and sensory perception would have inhibitory function by gating sensory information via top-down control. Read More

Semin Neurol 2017 Feb 1;37(1):60-65. Epub 2017 Feb 1.

Departments of Clinical Neurophysiology and Neurology, Medisch Spectrum Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.

Predicting the future of patients with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy after successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation is often difficult. Registration of the median nerve somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) can assist in the neurologic evaluation in these patients. In this article, the authors discuss the principles, applications, and limitations of SSEP registration in the intensive care unit, with a focus on prognostication. Read More

Turk Neurosurg 2016 ;26(6):930-936

Ankara University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Surgery, Ankara, Turkey.

Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the preventive effects of Etanercept, Etomidate, Erythropoietin and their combination in experimentally induced spinal cord trauma by clinical, histopathological, electrophysiological parameters and biochemical examination.

Material And Methods: 85 healthy female Wistar-Albino rats were used in this study. Rats were divided 8 trauma groups that consisted of 10 rats for each, and 5 rats for the sham group. Read More

Int J Neural Syst 2017 Jun 18;27(4):1650052. Epub 2016 Aug 18.

1 Center for Translational Neurophysiology IIT@Unife, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Fossato di Mortara 17-19, 44121 Ferrara, Italy.

High-density surface microelectrodes for electrocorticography (ECoG) have become more common in recent years for recording electrical signals from the cortex. With an acceptable invasiveness/signal fidelity trade-off and high spatial resolution, micro-ECoG is a promising tool to resolve fine task-related spatial-temporal dynamics. However, volume conduction - not a negligible phenomenon - is likely to frustrate efforts to obtain reliable and resolved signals from a sub-millimeter electrode array. Read More

J Neurosci Methods 2016 06 15;266:21-31. Epub 2016 Mar 15.

Dalhousie University, Canada; IWK Health Centre, Canada.

Background: Robust and reproducible source mapping with magnetoencephalography is particularly challenging at the individual level. We evaluated a receiver-operating characteristic reliability (ROC-r) method for automated production of volumetric MEG maps in single-subjects. ROC-r provides quality assurance comparable to that offered by goodness-of-fit (GoF) and confidence volume (CV) for equivalent current dipole (ECD) modeling. Read More

Exp Neurol 2016 May 11;279:261-273. Epub 2016 Feb 11.

Norton Neuroscience Institute, Norton Healthcare, Louisville, KY 40202, USA; Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40292, USA. Electronic address:

Most in vivo spinal cord injury (SCI) experimental models use rodents. Due to the anatomical and functional differences between rodents and humans, reliable large animal models, such as non-human primates, of SCI are critically needed to facilitate translation of laboratory discoveries to clinical applications. Here we report the establishment of a controlled spinal contusion model that produces severity-dependent functional and histological deficits in non-human primates. Read More

J Clin Neurophysiol 2015 Dec;32(6):472-80

*Neuroscience Institute, The Queen's Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.; †The University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.; and ‡Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

In critically ill patients, evoked potential (EP) testing is an important tool for measuring neurologic function, signal transmission, and secondary processing of sensory information in real time. Evoked potential measures conduction along the peripheral and central sensory pathways with longer-latency potentials representing more complex thalamocortical and intracortical processing. In critically ill patients with limited neurologic exams, EP provides a window into brain function and the potential for recovery of consciousness. Read More

Sci Rep 2015 Oct 22;5:15477. Epub 2015 Oct 22.

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, 5 Fu-shin Street, Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan, 333, R.O.C.

Burst-mode focused ultrasound (FUS) induces microbubble cavitation in the vasculature and temporarily disrupts the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to enable therapeutic agent delivery. However, it remains unclear whether FUS-induced BBB opening is accompanied by neuromodulation. Here we characterized the functional effects of FUS-induced BBB opening by measuring changes in somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) responses. Read More

PLoS One 2015 15;10(7):e0131635. Epub 2015 Jul 15.

Pediatric Hematology Oncology, Meyer Children's University Hospital, Florence, Italy; Direzione Generale, Azienda Sanitaria Provinciale 7, Ragusa, Italy.

Background: Neurodegenerative Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (ND-LCH) is a rare, unpredictable consequence that may devastate the quality of life of patients cured from LCH. We prospectively applied a multidisciplinary diagnostic work-up to early identify and follow-up patients with ND-LCH, with the ultimate goal of better determining the appropriate time for starting therapy.

Methods: We studied 27 children and young adults with either ND-LCH verified by structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (group 1) or specific risk factors for (diabetes insipidus, craniofacial bone lesions), but no evidence of, neurodegenerative MRI changes (group 2). Read More

Stem Cell Res Ther 2014 Nov 17;5(6):126. Epub 2014 Nov 17.

Introduction: The administration of stem cells holds promise as a potential therapy for spinal cord injury (SCI). Mesenchymal stem cells have advantages for clinical applications, since they can be easily obtained, are suitable for autologous transplantation and have been previously shown to induce regeneration of the spinal cord in experimental settings. Here we evaluated the feasibility, safety and potential efficacy of autologous transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells in subjects with chronic complete SCI. Read More

IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2015 May 25;23(3):342-50. Epub 2014 Jul 25.

Electrocorticography (ECoG) is becoming a common tool for clinical applications, such as preparing patients for epilepsy surgery or localizing tumor boundaries, as it successfully balances invasiveness and information quality. Clinical ECoG arrays use millimeter-scale electrodes and centimeter-scale pitch and cannot precisely map neural activity. Higher-resolution electrodes are of interest for both current clinical applications, providing access to more precise neural activity localization and novel applications, such as neural prosthetics, where current information density and spatial resolution is insufficient to suitably decode signals for a chronic brain-machine interface. Read More

Neurosci Res 2014 Oct 7;87:40-8. Epub 2014 Jul 7.

Department of Developmental Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8686, Japan; The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0193, Japan.

Electrocorticogram (ECoG) has provided neural information from the cortical surfaces, is widely used in clinical applications, and expected to be useful for brain-machine interfaces. Recent studies have defined the relationship between neural activity in deep layers of the cerebral cortex and ECoG. However, it is still unclear whether this relationship is shared across different brain states. Read More

Neurosurgery 2014 Apr;74(4):437-46; discussion 446

*Neurophysiology Division, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; ‡Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; §Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.

Background: Safe resection of intramedullary spinal cord tumors can be challenging, because they often alter the cord anatomy. Identification of neurophysiologically viable dorsal columns (DCs) and of neurophysiologically inert tissue, eg, median raphe (MR), as a safe incision site is crucial for avoiding postoperative neurological deficits. We present our experience with and improvements made to our previously described technique of DC mapping, successfully applied in a series of 12 cases. Read More

Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2013 ;2013:4207-10

Pain is a highly subjective experience, and the availability of an objective assessment of pain perception would be of great importance for both basic and clinical applications. The objective of the present study is to develop a novel approach to extract pain-related features from single-trial laser-evoked potentials (LEPs) for classification of pain perception. The single-trial LEP feature extraction approach combines a spatial filtering using common spatial pattern (CSP) and a multiple linear regression (MLR). Read More

Brain Res 2013 Oct 12;1533:73-9. Epub 2013 Aug 12.

Department of Neurosurgery, The Military General Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100007, China; Department of Cell Transplantation, General Hospital of The Chinese People's Armed Police Forces, Beijing 100039, China.

Neuronal injuries have been a challenging problem for treatment, especially in the case of complete and chronic cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). Recently, particular attention is paid to the potential of stem cell in treating SCI, but there are only few clinical studies and insufficient data. This study explored the efficacy of autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) transplantation in the treatment of SCI. Read More

IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst 2014 06 9;8(3):305-12. Epub 2013 Jul 9.

A tactile stimulation device for EEG measurements in clinical environments is proposed. The main purpose of the tactile stimulation device is to provide tactile stimulation to different parts of the body. To stimulate all four major types of mechanoreceptors, different stimulation patterns with frequencies in the range of 5-250 Hz have to be generated. Read More

Neuroimage 2013 Nov 16;81:283-293. Epub 2013 May 16.

Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education) and School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China. Electronic address:

Pain is a subjective first-person experience, and self-report is the gold standard for pain assessment in clinical practice. However, self-report of pain is not available in some vulnerable populations (e.g. Read More

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 2013 ;157(5):A5434

UMC Utrecht, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Quantitative sensory testing (QST) consists of several non-invasive, standardised tests aimed at examining different aspects of the entire somatosensory nervous system. Important advantages of QST over existing supplementary tests such as electromyography are the ability to test the function of thin and unmyelinated nerve fibres as well as the subjective sensation of a somatosensory stimulus. QST is validated in diagnosing small fibre neuropathy, diabetic neuropathy chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and neuropathic pain. Read More

Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2012 ;2012:1992-5

Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.

Inspired by the extraordinary object grabbing ability of certain insects (e.g., a grasshopper), we have developed a novel dry EEG electrode, called the skin screw electrode. Read More

J Neurophysiol 2013 Apr 23;109(8):2192-204. Epub 2013 Jan 23.

Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.

Somatic sensory signals provide a major source of feedback to motor cortex. Changes in somatosensory systems after stroke or injury could profoundly influence brain computer interfaces (BCI) being developed to create new output signals from motor cortex activity patterns. We had the unique opportunity to study the responses of hand/arm area neurons in primary motor cortex to passive joint manipulation in a person with a long-standing brain stem stroke but intact sensory pathways. Read More

Neurophysiol Clin 2012 Oct 22;42(5):315-23. Epub 2012 Jun 22.

Institute of Neuroscience (IONS), université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.

The periodic presentation of a sensory stimulus induces, at certain frequencies of stimulation, a sustained electroencephalographic response of corresponding frequency, known as steady-state evoked potentials (SS-EP). In visual, auditory and vibrotactile modalities, studies have shown that SS-EP reflect mainly activity originating from early, modality-specific sensory cortices. Furthermore, it has been shown that SS-EP have several advantages over the recording of transient event-related brain potentials (ERP), such as a high signal-to-noise ratio, a shorter time to obtain reliable signals, and the capacity to frequency-tag the cortical activity elicited by concurrently presented sensory stimuli. Read More

J Neurophysiol 2012 Jun 21;107(12):3227-34. Epub 2012 Mar 21.

U-1051, INSERM Institut des Neurosciences de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.

Infrared laser irradiation has been established as an appropriate stimulus for primary sensory neurons under conditions where sensory receptor cells are impaired or lost. Yet, development of clinical applications has been impeded by lack of information about the molecular mechanisms underlying the laser-induced neural response. Here, we directly address this question through pharmacological characterization of the biological response evoked by midinfrared irradiation of isolated retinal and vestibular ganglion cells from rodents. Read More

Res Vet Sci 2012 Oct 4;93(2):960-4. Epub 2012 Jan 4.

Department of Animal and Food Sciences, 242 Townsend Hall, Newark, DE 19716, USA.

Evaluation of the loss of consciousness in poultry is an essential component in evaluating bird welfare under a variety of situations and applications. Many current approaches to evaluating loss of consciousness are qualitative and require observation of the bird. This study outlines a quantitative method for determining the point at which a bird loses consciousness. Read More

J Neurosci 2011 Aug;31(34):12165-70

Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Sezione Neurologia e Neurofisiologia Clinica, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria Senese, Policlinico Le Scotte, I-53100 Siena, Italy.

Different corticothalamic brain modules intrinsically oscillate at a "natural frequency" in a topographically organized manner. In "quiescent" human sensorimotor regions, the main detectable oscillatory activity peaks at ∼20 Hz, and partly contributes to determine the state of corticospinal excitability. Here, we showed that the transcranial application of an imperceptible, short-lasting (90 s) electric field oscillating at a physiological range increases corticospinal excitability online, with well defined frequency dependence and regional specificity. Read More

J Physiol 2011 Oct 8;589(Pt 20):4981-96. Epub 2011 Aug 8.

Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, SESCAM, Toledo, Spain.

Afferent somatosensory activity from the spinal cord has a profound impact on the activity of the brain. Here we investigated the effects of spinal stimulation using direct current, delivered at the thoracic level, on the spontaneous activity and on the somatosensory evoked potentials of the gracile nucleus, which is the main entry point for hindpaw somatosensory signals reaching the brain from the dorsal columns, and of the primary somatosensory cortex in anaesthetized rats. Anodal spinal direct current stimulation (sDCS) increased the spontaneous activity and decreased the amplitude of evoked responses in the gracile nucleus, whereas cathodal sDCS produced the opposite effects. Read More

Neurosurgery 2012 Mar;70(3):E783-8

Neurophysiology Division, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.

Background And Importance: : Reliable visual identification of the median raphae, essential for the preservation of function of the posterior dorsal columns during intramedullary spinal cord tumor resection, is not possible in many cases, because of distorted local anatomy. In such cases, intraoperative neurophysiologic mapping of the dorsal columns offers invaluable information to the surgeon, and guides the myelotomy. We hereby describe such a new technique. Read More

Int J Psychophysiol 2011 Oct 16;82(1):4-15. Epub 2011 Mar 16.

National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, Portland VA Medical Center, Portland, OR, USA.

Traumatic brain injuries are often associated with damage to sensory and cognitive processing pathways. Because evoked potentials (EPs) and event-related potentials (ERPs) are generated by neuronal activity, they are useful for assessing the integrity of neural processing capabilities in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). This review of somatosensory, auditory and visual ERPs in assessments of TBI patients is provided with the hope that it will be of interest to clinicians and researchers who conduct or interpret electrophysiological evaluations of this population. Read More

Clin Neurophysiol 2011 Sep 5;122(9):1878-82. Epub 2011 Mar 5.

Department of Neurosurgery, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA.

Objective: During surgical clipping of intracranial aneurysms, reduction in SEP amplitude is thought to indicate cortical ischemia and subsequent neurological deficits. Since the sensitivity of SEP is questioned, we investigated SEP with respect to post-operative ischemia.

Methods: In 36 patients with 51 intracranial aneurysms, clinical evaluation and diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) was performed before and within 24h after surgery. Read More

Magn Reson Imaging 2009 Nov 22;27(9):1175-86. Epub 2009 Jul 22.

Department of Neurological and Vision Sciences, Section of Neurological Rehabilitation, Gianbattista Rossi Hospital, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.

Passive electrical stimulation activates various human somatosensory cortical systems including the contralateral primary somatosensory area (SI), bilateral secondary somatosensory area (SII) and bilateral insula. The effect of stimulation frequency on blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) activity remains unclear. We acquired 3-T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in eight healthy volunteers during electrical median nerve stimulation at frequencies of 1, 3 and 10 Hz. Read More

J Pain 2009 Jun 19;10(6):556-72. Epub 2009 Apr 19.

Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.

Unlabelled: Quantification of the human painful sensory experience is an essential step in the translation of knowledge from animal nociception to human pain. Translational models for assessment of pain are very important, as such models can be used in: 1) basic mechanistic studies in healthy volunteers; 2) clinical studies for diagnostic and monitoring purposes; 3) pharmacological studies to evaluate analgesic efficacy of new and existing compounds. Quantitative pain assessment, or quantitative sensory testing (QST), provides psychophysical methods that systematically document alterations and reorganization in nervous system function and, in particular, the nociceptive system. Read More

J Neurosurg 2008 Nov;109(5):783-93

Department of Neurosurgery, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.

Object: Midline clival lesions, whether involving the clivus or simply situated anterior to the brainstem, present a technical challenge for adequate exposure and safe resection. The authors describe, as a minimally invasive technique, an anterior clivectomy performed via an expanded transsphenoidal approach coupled with the use of a neuronavigation on mobile head and endoscopic-assisted technique. Wide and direct exposure, with the ability to resect extra- and intradural tumors, was achieved without mortality and with a low rate of complications. Read More

Neuroimage 2008 Aug 15;42(2):603-10. Epub 2008 May 15.

Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain, University of Oxford, UK.

With expanding potential clinical applications of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) it is important to test how reliable different measures of fMRI activation are between subjects and sessions and between centres. This study compared variability across 17 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 22 age-matched healthy controls (HC) in 5 European centres performing an fMRI block design with hand tapping. We recruited subjects from sites using 1. Read More

Clin Neurophysiol 2008 Aug 16;119(8):1705-1719. Epub 2008 May 16.

Université de Lyon 1, Lyon, France; INSERM U879 - Central Integration of Pain Unit, Neurological Hospital Lyon, France.

The International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology (IFCN) is in the process of updating its Recommendations for clinical practice published in 1999. These new recommendations dedicated to somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) update the methodological aspects and general clinical applications of standard SEPs, and introduce new sections dedicated to the anatomical-functional organization of the somatosensory system and to special clinical applications, such as intraoperative monitoring, recordings in the intensive care unit, pain-related evoked potentials, and trigeminal and pudendal SEPs. Standard SEPs have gained an established role in the health system, and the special clinical applications we describe here are drawing increasing interest. Read More

Neurophysiol Clin 2008 Feb 20;38(1):9-21. Epub 2007 Sep 20.

Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, PO Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands.

Objectives: Clinical applications of multichannel (>or=64 electrodes) electroencephalography (EEG) have been limited so far. Amplitude variability of evoked potentials in healthy subjects is large, which limits their diagnostic applicability. This amplitude variability may be partially due to spatial undersampling of anatomical variations in cortical generators. Read More

Hum Brain Mapp 2007 Jul;28(7):645-53

ITAB-Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, Foundation Università Gabriele D'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy.

Previous findings have shown that the human somatosensory cortical systems that are activated by passive nonpainful electrical stimulation include the contralateral primary somatosensory area (SI), bilateral secondary somatosensory area (SII), and bilateral insula. The present study tested the hypothesis that these areas have different sensitivities to stimulation frequency in the condition of passive stimulation. Functional MRI (fMRI) was recorded in 24 normal volunteers during nonpainful electrical median nerve stimulations at 0. Read More

J Altern Complement Med 2006 Sep;12(7):615-23

Key Laboratory of Nuclear Analysis Techniques, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Objectives: The present study is aimed at evaluating the effects of manual acupuncture with different durations on the human brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Materials And Methods: Eighteen healthy right-handed volunteers were divided into three groups randomly. Each group received only one kind of acupuncture on the right LI4 (Hegu) point, which lasted 30 sec, 60 sec, or 180 sec, respectively. Read More

Suppl Clin Neurophysiol 2006 ;59:113-20

Department of Neurology, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

Neurophysiol Clin 2006 Mar-Apr;36(2):53-62. Epub 2006 Apr 19.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, 10, Avenue Hippocrate, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.

Goals: To give an overview on the theoretical and practical applications of chemosensory event-related potentials.

Methods: Chemosensory event-related potentials (ERPs) may be elicited by brief and precisely defined odorous stimuli. Based on the principles of air-dilution olfactometry, a stimulator was developed in the late 1970s, which allows stimulation of the olfactory neuroepithelium and the nasal mucosa with no concomitant mechanical stimulation. Read More

BMC Neurosci 2006 Feb 23;7:18. Epub 2006 Feb 23.

Abratech Corporation, Sausalito, CA, USA.

Background: A new method has been used to obtain human sensory evoked-responses whose time-domain waveforms have been undetectable by previous methods. These newly discovered evoked-responses have durations that exceed the time between the stimuli in a continuous stream, thus causing an overlap which, up to now, has prevented their detection. We have named them "A-waves", and added a prefix to show the sensory system from which the responses were obtained (visA-waves, audA-waves, somA-waves). Read More

Can J Anaesth 2006 Jan;53(1):40-5

Université Libre de Bruxelles, Department of Anesthesiology, CUB Hôpital Erasme, 808 route de Lennik, 1070 Brussels, Belgium.

Purpose: The significance of intraoperative somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) monitoring is well known during spinal surgery. This technology could be beneficial during peripheral nerve surgery as well. In order to illustrate potential applications, two cases of successful peripheral nerve release demonstrated by on-line, intraoperative, SSEP are reported. Read More

Clin EEG Neurosci 2005 Oct;36(4):311-7

Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Helsinki, Finland.

A variety of neuroimaging techniques, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetoencephalography (MEG), have been established during the last few decades, with progressive improvements continuously taking place in the underlying technologies. In contrast to this, the recording bandwidth of the routine clinical EEG (typically around 0.5-50 Hz) that was originally set by trivial technical limitations has remained practically unaltered for over half a decade. Read More

Clin EEG Neurosci 2005 Oct;36(4):293-305

Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, CBF, Dept. ol Neurology, Hindenburgdamm 30, 12200 Berlin, Germany.

Spontaneous and stimulus-induced oscillatory EEG activities range over a wide scope of frequencies from 1 Hz to 1 kHz. In the ultrafast domain, trains of 5-10 micropotentials are superimposed to primary thalamic and cortical components in somtosensory evoked potentials (SEP) as brief bursts of 1000 Hz and 600 Hz, respectively. Over the last years, hypotheses on generators and functions of this frequency-edge of population activity have been elaborated in numerous studies. Read More

Clin Neurophysiol 2004 Nov;115(11):2629-37

Department of Human Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QX, UK.

Objective: To disclose a possible effect of duration of pulsed laser heat stimuli on Adelta nociceptor responses, skin temperature profiles, brain evoked potentials and pain perception.

Methods: We used a laser stimulator which works in the millisecond range and allows us to change the duration of the pulse while keeping the total energy of the stimulus constant. In 10 healthy volunteers, we measured the intensity of perceived pain with a 0-10 scale and the latency and amplitude of the early N1 and late N2 components of the scalp potentials evoked by laser pulses of equal energy and three different stimulus durations (2, 10, and 20 ms). Read More

Rev Med Liege 2004 ;59 Suppl 1:157-69

Service de Neurologie, CHU Liège.

Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP) offer a reliable measurement of peripheral and central sensory conduction through the stimulation of mixed or purely sensitive nerves. If their interest is well known for the evaluation of central pathologies (cerebral or spinal), their precise indication and application field in peripheral neuropathies remains unclear. Some specific diseases, like lumbar or cervical radiculopathies or brachial plexopathies, have been extensively studied and large series have been reported in the literature. Read More

Neurologist 2004 May;10(3):138-53

Department of Neurology, Texas Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA.

Background: Real-time, direct assessment of brain electrophysiology is critical for noninvasive functional mapping and for the identification of paroxysmal epileptiform abnormalities in the evaluation of patients for epilepsy surgery. Historically, electroencephalography (EEG) and evoked potentials (EPs) have performed these functions. However, both often required direct intracranial recording for precise localization. Read More

Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am 2004 Feb;15(1):163-75

Department of Neurology, San Giovanni Bosco Hospital, Hospital Largo Donatori di Sangue 3, 10154 Torino, Italy.

ERPs may extend the battery of neurophysiologic tests currently available for determining the functional integrity of the central nervous system and the capacity of cognition in patients with brain injury. The use of stimuli relevant for the patient can enhance the probability to record these waves in unconscious patients and in patients with cognitive impairment and enhance the predictive value on outcome. The experimental data in these patients still are not sufficient, however, to standardize the indications of ERPs in clinical practice. Read More