Isoflurane disrupts anterio-posterior phase synchronization of flash-induced field potentials in the rat

Consciousness presumes a set of integrated functions such as sensory processing, attention, and interpretation, and may depend upon both local and long-range phase synchronization of neuronal activity in cerebral cortex. Here we investigated whether volatile anesthetic isoflurane at concentrations that produce loss of consciousness (LOC) disrupts long-range anterio-posterior and local anterior synchronization of neuronal activity in the rat. In six rats, deep electrodes were chronically implanted in the primary visual cortex (V1) and in two areas of the motor cortex (M1 and M2) for recording of intracortical event-related potentials (ERP). Thirty discrete flashes were presented at random interstimulus intervals of 15–45 s, and ERPs were recorded at stepwise increasing isoflurane concentrations of 0–1.1%. Neuronal synchronization was estimated using wavelet coherence computed from the ERP data band-pass filtered at 5–50 Hz. We found that (1) in the waking state, long-range anterio-posterior coherence in 5–25 Hz and 25–50 Hz frequency bands was significantly higher than local anterior coherence; (2) anterio-posterior coherence in both 5–25 Hz and 26–50 Hz bands was significantly reduced by isoflurane in a concentration-dependent manner; (3) local anterior coherence was not affected by isoflurane at any of the concentrations studied. These findings suggest that a disruption of long-range anterio-posterior rather than local anterior synchronization of neuronal activity precedes the anesthetic-induced loss of consciousness.     

Contextual modulation of synchronization to random dots in the cat visual cortex

Synchronization of neuronal activity has been proposed as a binding mechanism for integration of image properties into one coherent percept. In the present study, we investigated the contextual modulation of synchronization to random dot patterns. Coherent motion of random dots evoked well synchronized responses in area 17 of anaesthetized cats when the stimulus was presented in the compound receptive field of recorded sites. Gradually changing the directional coherence of random dots in the surround while maintaining fully coherent motion of the stimulus in the receptive field significantly suppressed synchronization of neuronal activity for some stimulus conditions. However, usually one or two peaks of increased synchronization were found in the surround coherence tuning curves with low (8–12%) and/or moderate (25–50%) coherence in the surround. At the population level, synchronization was significantly depressed with incoherent motion in the receptive field and when both the surround and the receptive field were jointly stimulated with 0% coherence. The intriguing finding was the discovery of two distinct groups of cells with opposite synchronization changes dependent on the presence or absence of significant synchronization in their spontaneous activity. The latter group of neurons showed peaks of increased synchronization with lower surround coherence, thus probably being more sensitive to the direction of the surround motion. Overall, our findings support the notion that binding of stimulus properties can be achieved by synchronized activity of cortical cells. However, our findings go further than the original hypothesis of feature binding by synchrony to show that synchronization of cortical activity may be directly related to the decision making processes, which in turn are related to the threshold of perception of coherent motion.     

实时三维超声评价冠状动脉性心脏病患者左室收缩功能及同步性研究

目的探讨实时三维超声(RT-3DE)评价冠状动脉性心脏病(以下简称冠心病)患者左室收缩功能及同步性的应用价值。方法 61例健康志愿者(正常组)及67例冠心病患者(冠心病组)分别进行实时三维超声和常规超声检查,分析比较各种方法所测左室整体、局部收缩功能参数及同步性参数。结果 RT-3DE与双平面Simpson’s法的相关性高于其与M型超声的相关性。RT-3DE估测左室容积低于常规超声。RT-3DE测量从基底段至心尖段容积呈递减趋势,射血分数呈递增趋势;冠心病组的梗死节段左室整体舒张末期容积和整体收缩末期容积均高于正常组相应节段,各节段射血分数均低于正常组相应节段(均P0.05)。冠心病组左室16节段从QRS波起点到最小收缩容积时间的标准差和最大差值(Tmsv 16-SD、Tmsv 16-Dif),以及用R-R间期校正后的Tmsv 16-SD%、Tmsv 16-Dif%均显著高于正常组,且多支病变患者均高于单支病变(均P0.05)。结论 RT-3DE能更加精准、客观地评价冠心病患者左室收缩功能及同步性。     

Early dysfunction of functional connectivity in healthy elderly with subjective memory complaints

It is still an open question whether subjective memory complaints (SMC) can actually be considered to be clinically relevant predictors for the development of an objective memory impairment and even dementia. There is growing evidence that suggests that SMC are associated with an increased risk of dementia and with the presence of biological correlates of early Alzheimer's disease. In this paper, in order to shed some light on this issue, we try to discern whether subjects with SMC showed a different profile of functional connectivity compared with subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy elderly subjects. In the present study, we compare the degree of synchronization of brain signals recorded with magnetoencephalography between three groups of subjects (56 in total): 19 with MCI, 12 with SMC and 25 healthy controls during a memory task. Synchronization likelihood, an index based on the theory of nonlinear dynamical systems, was used to measure functional connectivity. Briefly, results show that subjects with SMC have a very similar pattern of connectivity to control group, but on average, they present a lower synchronization value. These results could indicate that SMC are representing an initial stage with a hypo-synchronization (in comparison with the control group) where the brain system is still not compensating for the failing memory networks, but behaving as controls when compared with the MCI subjects.     

Global exponential synchronization of memristor-based recurrent neural networks with time-varying delays

This paper deals with the problem of global exponential synchronization of a class of memristor-based recurrent neural networks with time-varying delays based on the fuzzy theory and Lyapunov method. First, a memristor-based recurrent neural network is designed. Then, considering the state-dependent properties of the memristor, a new fuzzy model employing parallel distributed compensation (PDC) gives a new way to analyze the complicated memristor-based neural networks with only two subsystems. Comparisons between results in this paper and in the previous ones have been made. They show that the results in this paper improve and generalized the results derived in the previous literature. An example is also given to illustrate the effectiveness of the results.     

Corticomuscular coherence in acute and chronic stroke

ObjectiveMotor recovery after stroke is attributed to neuronal plasticity, however not all post-stroke neuronal changes relate to regaining fine motor control. Corticomuscular coherence (CMC) is a measure allowing to trace neuronal reorganizations which are functionally relevant for motor recovery. Contrary to previous studies which were performed only in chronic stage, we measured CMC in patients with stroke at both acute and chronic stroke stages.MethodsFor the detection of CMC we used multichannel EEG and EMG recordings along with an optimization algorithm for the detection of corticomuscular interactions.ResultsIn acute stroke, the CMC amplitude was larger on the unaffected side compared to the affected side and also larger compared to the unaffected side in the chronic period. Additionally, CMC peak frequencies on both sides decreased in the acute compared to the chronic period and to control subjects. In chronic stage, there were no inter-hemispheric or group differences in CMC amplitude or frequency.ConclusionsThe changes in CMC parameters in acute stroke could result from a temporary decrease in inhibition, which normalizes in the course of recovery. As all patients showed very good motor recovery, the modulation of CMC amplitude and frequency over time might thus reflect the process of motor recovery.SignificanceWe demonstrate for the first time the dynamical changes of corticomuscular interaction both at acute and chronic stage of stroke.     

二维斑点追踪成像评价心脏移植术后左室收缩同步性的价值探讨

目的应用二维斑点追踪成像评价临床状态稳定的心脏移植患者术后左室收缩同步性。方法选取20例心脏移植后无并发症且临床状态稳定的患者(心脏移植组),于移植术后3 d、1个月、3个月、6个月和1年行超声心动图检查;另选20例正常成人(对照组)。应用二维斑点追踪成像技术获取左室各节段纵向应变、径向应变及圆周应变达峰时间(Tls、Trs、Tcs),计算左室整体收缩期纵向应变、径向应变、环向应变达峰时间标准差(Tls-SD、Trs-SD、Tcs-SD)及达峰时间最大差值(Tls-dif、Trs-dif、Tcs-dif),并计算纵向应变延迟指数(LSDI),同时应用改良Simpson双平面法测量左室射血分数(LVEF)。比较心脏移植组各时间段与对照组间、心脏移植组各时点间上述参数的差异。结果心脏移植组术后3 d各应变参数均较对照组显著增高,差异均有统计学意义(均P<0.05);术后1个月Tls-SD与对照组比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。心脏移植组术后LSDI、Tls-SD、Tls-dif呈逐渐降低趋势,且术后3 d与术后3个月、6个月、1年比较,差异均有统计学意义(均P<0.05);术后1个月Tls-SD与术后1年比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。术后各时间段LSDI、Tls-SD和Tls-dif与LVEF均呈负相关(r=-0.523、-0.434、-0.401,均P<0.01),其中LSDI相关系数最高。结论临床状态稳定的心脏移植术后患者左室收缩功能存在不同步性,以术后3 d最为显著,在术后3个月左室收缩同步性得以恢复,并趋向正常。二维斑点追踪成像测得的LSDI、Tls-SD、Tls-dif可以客观评价心脏移植术后左室收缩同步性的变化,且以上参数与LVEF显著相关。     

NONLINEAR INTERDEPENDENCE IN NEURAL SYSTEMS: MOTIVATION,THEORY, AND RELEVANCE

In this article, we motivate models of medium to large-scale neural activity that place an emphasis on the modular nature of neocortical organization and discuss the occurrence of nonlinear interdependence in such models. On the basis of their functional, anatomical, and physiological properties, it is argued that cortical columns may be treated as the basic dynamical modules of cortical systems. Coupling between these columns is introduced to represent sparse long-range cortical connectivity. Thus, neocortical activity can be modeled as an array of weakly coupled dynamical subsystems. The behavior of such systems is represented by dynamical attractors, which may be fixed point, limit cycle, or chaotic in nature. If all the subsystems are perfectly identical, then the state of identical chaotic synchronization is a possible attractor for the array. Following the introduction of parameter variation across the array, such a state is not possible, although two other important nonlinear interdependences--generalized and phase synchronized--are possible. We suggest that an understanding of nonlinear interdependence may assist advances in models of neural activity and neuroscience time series analysis.     

EEG synchronization measures are early outcome predictors in comatose patients after cardiac arrest

Objective

Outcome prognostication in comatose patients after cardiac arrest (CA) remains a major challenge. Here we investigated the prognostic value of combinations of linear and non-linear bivariate EEG synchronization measures.