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S Laureys

Publications and source records attributed to S Laureys.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Cortical processing of noxious somatosensory stimuli in the persistent vegetative state.

The persistent vegetative state (PVS) is a devastating medical condition characterized by preserved wakefulness contrasting with absent voluntary interaction with the environment. We used positron emission tomography to assess the central processing of noxious somatosensory stimuli in the PVS. Changes in regional cerebral blood flow were measured during high-intensity electrical stimulation of the median nerve compared with rest in 15 nonsedated patients and in 15 healthy controls. Evoked potentials were recorded simultaneously. The stimuli were experienced as highly unpleasant to painful in controls. Brain glucose metabolism was also studied with [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose in resting conditions. In PVS patients, overall cerebral metabolism was 40% of normal values. Nevertheless, noxious somatosensory stimulation-activated midbrain, contralateral thalamus, and primary somatosensory cortex in each and every PVS patient, even in the absence of detectable cortical evoked potentials. Secondary somatosensory, bilateral insular, posterior parietal, and anterior cingulate cortices did not show activation in any patient. Moreover, in PVS patients, the activated primary somatosensory cortex was functionally disconnected from secondary somatosensory, bilateral posterior parietal, premotor, polysensory superior temporal, and prefrontal cortices. In conclusion, somatosensory stimulation of PVS patients, at intensities that elicited pain in controls, resulted in increased neuronal activity in primary somatosensory cortex, even if resting brain metabolism was severely impaired. However, this activation of primary cortex seems to be isolated and dissociated from higher-order associative cortices.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Sleeping brain, learning brain. The role of sleep for memory systems.

The hypothesis that sleep participates in the consolidation of recent memory traces has been investigated using four main paradigms: (1) effects of post-training sleep deprivation on memory consolidation, (2) effects of learning on post-training sleep, (3) effects of within sleep stimulation on the sleep pattern and on overnight memories, and (4) re-expression of behavior-specific neural patterns during post-training sleep. These studies convincingly support the idea that sleep is deeply involved in memory functions in humans and animals. However, the available data still remain too scarce to confirm or reject unequivocally the recently upheld hypothesis that consolidations of non-declarative and declarative memories are respectively dependent upon REM and NREM sleep processes.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Neural and cognitive bases of upper limb apraxia in corticobasal degeneration.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the neural and cognitive bases of upper limb apraxia in corticobasal degeneration (CBD). METHODS: Eighteen patients with CBD underwent a cognitive neuropsychological assessment of apraxia and resting [(18)F]-fluorodeoxyglucose PET scanning. Two complementary measures of apraxia were computed for each modality of gesture production. First, a performance score measured error frequency during gesture execution. Second, as a more stringent test of the integrity of the praxis system, the correction score measured the patient's ability to correct his or her errors on a second attempt. For each measure type, a cut-off score for the presence of apraxia was defined with regard to healthy controls. Using each cut-off score, the regional cerebral glucose metabolism of patients with CBD with apraxia (i.e., performing below cut-off score) was compared with that of patients with CBD without apraxia. RESULTS: Mean performance scores were below normal values in all modalities. Anterior cingulate hypometabolism predominated in patients with CBD who performed below the cut-off performance score. At variance, mean correction scores were below normal values for gesture imitation only. Hypometabolism in superior parietal lobule and supplementary motor area characterized patients with CBD who were unable to correct their errors at the same rate as control subjects did. CONCLUSIONS: Distinct neural networks underlie distinct aspects of the upper limb apraxic deficits in CBD. Extending previous findings of gesture production deficits in CBD, the use of complementary measures of apraxic behavior discloses a visuoimitative upper limb apraxia in CBD, underlain by a metabolic decrease in a parietofrontal neural network.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Generation of rapid eye movements during paradoxical sleep in humans.

Although rapid eye movements (REMs) are a prominent feature of paradoxical sleep (PS), their origin and functional significance remain poorly understood in humans. In animals, including nonhuman primates, REMs during PS are closely related to the occurrence of the so-called PGO waves, i.e., prominent phasic activities recorded throughout the brain but predominantly and most easily in the pons (P), the lateral geniculate bodies (G), and the occipital cortex (O). Therefore, and because the evolution of species is parsimonious, a plausible hypothesis would be that during PS in humans, REMs are generated by mechanisms similar to PGO waves. Using positron emission tomography and iterative cerebral blood flow measurements by H(2)(15)O infusions, we predicted that the brain regions where the PGO waves are the most easily recorded in animals would be differentially more active in PS than in wakefulness, in relation with the density of the REM production [i.e., we looked for the condition (PS versus wakefulness) by performance (REM density) interaction]. Accordingly, we found a significant interaction effect in the right geniculate body and in the primary occipital cortex. The result supports the hypothesis of the existence of processes similar to PGO waves in humans, responsible for REM generation. The interest in the presence of PGO waves in humans is outstanding because the cellular processes involved in, or triggered by, PGO waves might favor brain plasticity during PS.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Experience-dependent changes in cerebral functional connectivity during human rapid eye movement sleep.

One function of sleep is hypothesized to be the reprocessing and consolidation of memory traces (Smith, 1995; Gais et al., 2000; McGaugh, 2000; Stickgold et al., 2000). At the cellular level, neuronal reactivations during post-training sleep in animals have been observed in hippocampal (Wilson and McNaughton, 1994) and cortical (Amzica et al., 1997) neuronal populations. At the systems level, using positron emission tomography, we have recently shown that some brain areas reactivated during rapid-eye-movement sleep in human subjects previously trained on an implicit learning task (a serial reaction time task) (Maquet et al., 2000). These cortical reactivations, located in the left premotor area and bilateral cuneus, were thought to reflect the reprocessing--possibly the consolidation--of memory traces during post-training rapid-eye-movement sleep. Here, the experience-dependent functional connectivity of these brain regions is examined. It is shown that the left premotor cortex is functionally more correlated with the left posterior parietal cortex and bilateral pre-supplementary motor area during rapid-eye-movement sleep of subjects previously trained to the reaction time task compared to rapid-eye-movement sleep of untrained subjects. The increase in functional connectivity during post-training rapid-eye-movement sleep suggests that the brain areas reactivated during post-training rapid-eye-movement sleep participate in the optimization of the network that subtends subject's visuo-motor response. The optimization of this visuo-motor network during sleep could explain the gain in performance observed during the following day.

Brain Mapping↗
PubMed2000

Striatum forever, despite sequence learning variability: a random effect analysis of PET data.

This PET study is concerned with the what, where, and how of implicit sequence learning. In contrast with previous studies imaging the serial reaction time (SRT) task, the sequence of successive locations was determined by a probabilistic finite-state grammar. The implicit acquisition of statistical relationships between serially ordered elements (i.e., what) was studied scan by scan, aiming to evidence the brain areas (i.e., where) specifically involved in the implicit processing of this core component of sequential higher-order knowledge. As behavioural results demonstrate between- and within-subjects variability in the implicit acquisition of sequential knowledge through practice, functional PET data were modelled using a random-effect model analysis (i.e., how) to account for both sources of behavioural variability. First, two mean condition images were created per subject depending on the presence or not of implicit sequential knowledge at the time of each of the 12 scans. Next, direct comparison of these mean condition images provided the brain areas involved in sequential knowledge processing. Using this approach, we have shown that the striatum is involved in more than simple pairwise associations and that it has the capacity to process higher-order knowledge. We suggest that the striatum is not only involved in the implicit automatization of serial information through prefrontal cortex-caudate nucleus networks, but also that it plays a significant role for the selection of the most appropriate responses in the context created by both the current and previous stimuli, thus contributing to better efficiency and faster response preparation in the SRT task.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

[(18)F]p-MPPF: aA radiolabeled antagonist for the study of 5-HT(1A) receptors with PET.

This paper summarizes the present status of the researches conducted with [(18)F]4-(2'-methoxyphenyl)-1-[2'-[N-(2"-pyridinyl)-p-fluorobenzamido ]ethyl]-piperazine known as [(18)F]p-MPPF, a new 5-HT(1A) antagonist for the study of the serotonergic neurotransmission with positron emission tomography (PET). This includes chemistry, radiochemistry, animal data (rats, cats, and monkeys) with autoradiography and PET, human data with PET, toxicity, and metabolism.

Aminopyridines↗
PubMed2000

Experience-dependent changes in cerebral activation during human REM sleep.

The function of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep is still unknown. One prevailing hypothesis suggests that REM sleep is important in processing memory traces. Here, using positron emission tomography (PET) and regional cerebral blood flow measurements, we show that waking experience influences regional brain activity during subsequent sleep. Several brain areas activated during the execution of a serial reaction time task during wakefulness were significantly more active during REM sleep in subjects previously trained on the task than in non-trained subjects. These results support the hypothesis that memory traces are processed during REM sleep in humans.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Auditory processing in the vegetative state.

H(2)(15)O-PET was used to investigate changes in regional cerebral blood flow in response to auditory stimulation in patients in the vegetative state. Five patients in a vegetative state of hypoxic origin were compared with 18 age-matched controls. In addition, the cerebral metabolism of these patients and 53 age-matched controls was studied using [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose. In control subjects, auditory click stimuli activated bilateral auditory cortices [Brodmann areas (BA) 41 and 42] and the contralateral auditory association cortices (BA 22). In the patients, although resting metabolism was decreased to 61% of normal values, bilateral auditory areas 41 and 42 showed activation as seen in the controls, but the temporoparietal junction cortex (BA 22) failed to be activated. Moreover, the auditory association cortex was functionally disconnected from the posterior parietal association area (BA 40), the anterior cingulate cortex (BA 24) and the hippocampus, as revealed by psychophysiological interaction analysis. Thus, despite altered resting metabolism, the auditory primary cortices were still activated during external stimulation, whereas hierarchically higher-order multi- modal association areas were not. Such a cascade of functional disconnections along the auditory cortical pathways, from the primary auditory areas to multimodal and limbic areas, suggests that the residual cortical processing observed in the vegetative state cannot lead to the integrative processes that are thought to be necessary for the attainment of the normal level of awareness.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2000

Neural mechanisms of antinociceptive effects of hypnosis.

BACKGROUND: The neural mechanisms underlying the modulation of pain perception by hypnosis remain obscure. In this study, we used positron emission tomography in 11 healthy volunteers to identify the brain areas in which hypnosis modulates cerebral responses to a noxious stimulus. METHODS: The protocol used a factorial design with two factors: state (hypnotic state, resting state, mental imagery) and stimulation (warm non-noxious vs. hot noxious stimuli applied to right thenar eminence). Two cerebral blood flow scans were obtained with the 15O-water technique during each condition. After each scan, the subject was asked to rate pain sensation and unpleasantness. Statistical parametric mapping was used to determine the main effects of noxious stimulation and hypnotic state as well as state-by-stimulation interactions (i.e., brain areas that would be more or less activated in hypnosis than in control conditions, under noxious stimulation). RESULTS: Hypnosis decreased both pain sensation and the unpleasantness of noxious stimuli. Noxious stimulation caused an increase in regional cerebral blood flow in the thalamic nuclei and anterior cingulate and insular cortices. The hypnotic state induced a significant activation of a right-sided extrastriate area and the anterior cingulate cortex. The interaction analysis showed that the activity in the anterior (mid-)cingulate cortex was related to pain perception and unpleasantness differently in the hypnotic state than in control situations. CONCLUSIONS: Both intensity and unpleasantness of the noxious stimuli are reduced during the hypnotic state. In addition, hypnotic modulation of pain is mediated by the anterior cingulate cortex.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Impaired effective cortical connectivity in vegetative state: preliminary investigation using PET.

Vegetative state (VS) is a condition of abolished awareness with persistence of arousal. Awareness is part of consciousness, which itself is thought to represent an emergent property of cerebral neural networks. Our hypothesis was that part of the neural correlate underlying VS is an altered connectivity, especially between the associative cortices. We assessed regional cerebral glucose metabolism (rCMRGlu) and effective cortical connectivity in four patients in VS by means of statistical parametric mapping and [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography. Our data showed a common pattern of impaired rCMRGlu in the prefrontal, premotor, and parietotemporal association areas and posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus in VS. In a next step, we demonstrated that in VS patients various prefrontal and premotor areas have in common that they are less tightly connected with the posterior cingulate cortex than in normal controls. These results provide a strong argument for an alteration of cortical connectivity in VS patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Comparison of impaired subcortico-frontal metabolic networks in normal aging, subcortico-frontal dementia, and cortical frontal dementia.

Normal aging, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are characterized by different degrees of decline in frontal lobe functions. We used (18)FDG-PET and statistical parametric mapping (SPM96) to compare relative subcorticofrontal metabolic impairment at rest in 21 healthy elderly subjects (HES), 20 PSP patients, and 6 FTD patients. When HES were compared to 22 healthy young subjects, widespread decrease in metabolism was observed in bilateral medial prefrontal areas including anterior cingulate cortices, in dorsolateral prefrontal areas, in left lateral premotor area, in Broca's area, and in left insula. In PSP compared to the 43 healthy subjects (HS), we observed subcorticofrontal metabolic impairment including both motor and cognitive neural networks. Impairment of functional connections between midbrain tegmentum and cerebellar, temporal and pallidal regions was demonstrated in PSP as compared to HS. When comparing FTD to HS, glucose uptake was primarily reduced in dorsolateral and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices and in frontopolar and anterior cingulate regions. There was also bilateral anterior temporal, right inferior parietal, and bilateral striatal hypometabolism. Finally, FTD showed more severe striatofrontal metabolic impairment than PSP, while mesencephalothalamic involvement was only observed in PSP. Our data suggest that subcorticofrontal metabolic impairment is distributed in distinct subcorticocortical networks in normal aging, PSP, and FTD. Subcorticofrontal dementia in PSP is related to hypometabolism in discrete frontal areas, which are probably disconnected from certain subcortical structures. The concept of subcortical dementia is reinforced by our data, which show disrupted functional connections between mesencephalon and cerebellar cortex, inferior and medial temporal regions, and pallidum.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Fluorodopa uptake and glucose metabolism in early stages of corticobasal degeneration.

Fluorodopa (FDOPA) and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET was performed in six patients in early stages of corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and compared to Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with a similar degree of bradykinesia and rigidity and to healthy controls. Statistical parametric mapping analysis comparing CBD to controls showed metabolic decrease in premotor, primary motor, supplementary motor, primary sensory, prefrontal, and parietal associative cortices, and in caudate and thalamus contralateral to the side of clinical signs. Except for the prefrontal regions a similar metabolic pattern was observed when CBD was compared to PD. Putamen FDOPA uptake was decreased in both CBD and PD. Caudate FDOPA uptake in CBD patients was decreased contralateral to clinical signs when compared to controls, but was higher than in PD. In early stages of CBD, FDOPA and FDG PET patterns differed from those observed in PD. In CBD the asymmetry in FDOPA uptake was less pronounced than that of clinical signs or metabolic impairment.

Aged↗