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Adam D Liston

Publications and source records attributed to Adam D Liston.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Analysis of EEG-fMRI data in focal epilepsy based on automated spike classification and Signal Space Projection.

Simultaneous acquisition of EEG and fMRI data enables the investigation of the hemodynamic correlates of interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) during the resting state in patients with epilepsy. This paper addresses two issues: (1) the semi-automation of IED classification in statistical modelling for fMRI analysis and (2) the improvement of IED detection to increase experimental fMRI efficiency. For patients with multiple IED generators, sensitivity to IED-correlated BOLD signal changes can be improved when the fMRI analysis model distinguishes between IEDs of differing morphology and field. In an attempt to reduce the subjectivity of visual IED classification, we implemented a semi-automated system, based on the spatio-temporal clustering of EEG events. We illustrate the technique's usefulness using EEG-fMRI data from a subject with focal epilepsy in whom 202 IEDs were visually identified and then clustered semi-automatically into four clusters. Each cluster of IEDs was modelled separately for the purpose of fMRI analysis. This revealed IED-correlated BOLD activations in distinct regions corresponding to three different IED categories. In a second step, Signal Space Projection (SSP) was used to project the scalp EEG onto the dipoles corresponding to each IED cluster. This resulted in 123 previously unrecognised IEDs, the inclusion of which, in the General Linear Model (GLM), increased the experimental efficiency as reflected by significant BOLD activations. We have also shown that the detection of extra IEDs is robust in the face of fluctuations in the set of visually detected IEDs. We conclude that automated IED classification can result in more objective fMRI models of IEDs and significantly increased sensitivity.

Cerebral Cortex↗

The MR detection of neuronal depolarization during 3-Hz spike-and-wave complexes in generalized epilepsy.

Previously, an analysis of activations observed in a patient with idiopathic generalized epilepsy using electroencephalogram-correlated functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during runs of 3-Hz generalized spike-wave discharge (GSWD) was presented by Salek-Haddadi. Time-locked, bilateral, thalamic blood oxygenation level-dependent increases were reported to be accompanied by widespread, symmetric, cortical deactivation with a frontal maximum. In light of recent investigations into MRI detection of the magnetic field perturbations caused by neuronal current loops during depolarization, we revisited the analysis of the data of Salek-Haddadi as a preliminary search for a neuroelectric signal. We modeled the MRI response as the sum of a fast signal and a slower signal and demonstrated significant MRI activity at a time scale of the order of 30 ms associated with GSWDs. Further work is necessary before firm conclusions may be drawn about the nature of this signal.

Cerebral Cortex↗

Electrical impedance tomography of human brain function using reconstruction algorithms based on the finite element method.

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a recently developed technique which enables the internal conductivity of an object to be imaged using rings of external electrodes. In a recent study, EIT during cortical evoked responses showed encouraging changes in the raw impedance measurements, but reconstructed images were noisy. A simplified reconstruction algorithm was used which modelled the head as a homogeneous sphere. In the current study, the development and validation of an improved reconstruction algorithm are described in which realistic geometry and conductivity distributions have been incorporated using the finite element method. Data from computer simulations and spherical or head-shaped saline-filled tank phantoms, in which the skull was represented by a concentric shell of plaster of Paris or a real human skull, have been reconstructed into images. There were significant improvements in image quality as a result of the incorporation of accurate geometry and extracerebral layers in the reconstruction algorithm. Image quality, assessed by blinded subjective expert observers, also improved significantly when data from the previous evoked response study were reanalysed with the new algorithm. In preliminary images collected during epileptic seizures, the new algorithm generated EIT conductivity changes which were consistent with the electrographic ictal activity. Incorporation of realistic geometry and conductivity into the reconstruction algorithm significantly improves the quality of EIT images and lends encouragement to the belief that EIT may provide a low-cost, portable functional neuroimaging system in the foreseeable future.

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