Imaging connectivity: MRI and the structural networks of the brain.
Authors: Clayden JD
Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a flexible and widely available neuroimaging technique. Structural MRI and diffusion MRI, in particular, provide information about connectivity between brain regions which may be combined to obtain a picture of entire neural networks, or the so-called connectome. In this review we outline the principles of MR-based connectivity analysis, discuss what relevant information it can provide for clinical and non-clinical neuroscience research, and outline some of the outstanding needs which future work will aim to meet.
PMID: 24139656 [Pub...
Source: Functional Neurology - December 2, 2014 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Awake surgery between art and science. Part I: clinical and operative settings.
Authors: Talacchi A, Santini B, Casagrande F, Alessandrini F, Zoccatelli G, Squintani GM
Abstract
Awake surgery requires coordinated teamwork and communication between the surgeon and the anesthesiologist, as he monitors the patient, the neuroradiologist as he interprets the images for intraoperative confirmation, and the neuropsychologist and neurophysiologist as they evaluate in real-time the patient's responses to commands and questions. To improve comparison across published studies on clinical assessment and operative settings in awake surgery, we reviewed the literature, focusing on methodological di...
Source: Functional Neurology - December 2, 2014 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Awake surgery between art and science. Part II: language and cognitive mapping.
Authors: Talacchi A, Santini B, Casartelli M, Monti A, Capasso R, Miceli G
Abstract
Direct cortical and subcortical stimulation has been claimed to be the gold standard for exploring brain function. In this field, efforts are now being made to move from intraoperative naming-assisted surgical resection towards the use of other language and cognitive tasks. However, before relying on new protocols and new techniques, we need a multi-staged system of evidence (low and high) relating to each step of functional mapping and its clinical validity. In this article we examine the possibilities and limits of brain ...
Source: Functional Neurology - December 2, 2014 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
Functional neurology of a brain system: a 3D olfactory bulb model to process natural odorants.
Authors: Migliore M, Cavarretta F, Hines ML, Shepherd GM
Abstract
The network of interactions between mitral and granule cells in the olfactory bulb is a critical step in the processing of odor information underlying the neural basis of smell perception. We are building the first computational model in 3 dimensions of this network in order to analyze the rules for connectivity and function within it. The initial results indicate that this network can be modeled to simulate experimental results on the activation of the olfactory bulb by natural odorants, providing a much more powerful approach for 3D simula...
Source: Functional Neurology - December 2, 2014 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
MRI observation of hippocampal degeneration in Alzheimer's disease: a forgotten case.
Authors: D'Angelo E, Mazzarello P
Abstract
At the beginning of the 1990s, as part of work being done for a master's degree thesis in physics, an important observation of hippocampal degeneration in Alzheimer's disease was made in Pavia. However this result was never published in a full scientific paper. This case gives an idea of how an isolated observation can, in the right setting, develop into a real scientific achievement.
PMID: 24139660 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] (Source: Functional Neurology)
Source: Functional Neurology - December 2, 2014 Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research
