Biomedical subjects

William Gaetz

Publications and source records attributed to William Gaetz.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Task-related modulation of early cortical responses during language production: an event-related synthetic aperture magnetometry study.

We used whole-head magnetoencephalography measurements to investigate the spatiotemporal pattern of neural activity related to language production. Eight participants overtly responded by repeating aloud or vocalizing an internally generated verb to auditorily or visually presented nouns. Activity peaked within primary sensory (auditory or visual) cortices between 75 and 130 ms after stimulus onset, association cortices (inferior and superior temporal gyri) between 130 and 170 ms, and inferior frontal and premotor areas between 150 and 240 ms. Common to auditory and visual modalities, peak activity at about 220 ms was significantly larger in bilateral inferior frontal and left precentral regions when participants generated a verb than when they repeated a noun. These early differences in frontal regions may reflect the allocation of resources to the processing of low-level perceptions that are projected to the premotor areas early in the preparation of language production.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Activation of area MT/V5 and the right inferior parietal cortex during the discrimination of transient direction changes in translational motion.

The perception of changes in the direction of objects that translate in space is an important function of our visual system. Here we investigate the brain electrical phenomena underlying such a function by using a combination of magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetic resonance imaging. We recorded MEG-evoked responses in 9 healthy human subjects while they discriminated the direction of a transient change in a translationally moving random dot pattern presented either to the right or to the left of a central fixation point. We found that responses reached their maximum in 2 main regions corresponding to motion processing area middle temporal (MT)/V5 contralateral to the stimulated visual field, and to the right inferior parietal lobe (rIPL). The activation latencies were very similar in both regions ( approximately 135 ms) following the direction change onset. Our findings suggest that area MT/V5 provides the strongest sensory signal in response to changes in the direction of translational motion, whereas area rIPL may be involved either in the sensory processing of transient motion signals or in the processing of signals related to orienting of attention.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Spatiotemporal mapping of cortical activity accompanying voluntary movements using an event-related beamforming approach.

We describe a novel spatial filtering approach to the localization of cortical activity accompanying voluntary movements. The synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM) minimum-variance beamformer algorithm was used to compute spatial filters three-dimensionally over the entire brain from single trial neuromagnetic recordings of subjects performing self-paced index finger movements. Images of instantaneous source power ("event-related SAM") computed at selected latencies revealed activation of multiple cortical motor areas prior to and following left and right index finger movements in individual subjects, even in the presence of low-frequency noise (e.g., eye movements). A slow premovement motor field (MF) reaching maximal amplitude approximately 50 ms prior to movement onset was localized to the hand area of contralateral precentral gyrus, followed by activity in the contralateral postcentral gyrus at 40 ms, corresponding to the first movement-evoked field (MEFI). A novel finding was a second activation of the precentral gyrus at a latency of approximately 150 ms, corresponding to the second movement-evoked field (MEFII). Group averaging of spatially normalized images indicated additional premovement activity in the ipsilateral precentral gyrus and the left inferior parietal cortex for both left and right finger movements. Weaker activations were also observed in bilateral premotor areas and the supplementary motor area. These results show that event-related beamforming provides a robust method for studying complex patterns of time-locked cortical activity accompanying voluntary movements, and offers a new approach for the localization of multiple cortical sources derived from neuromagnetic recordings in single subject and group data.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Preoperative simulation of intracerebral epileptiform discharges: synthetic aperture magnetometry virtual sensor analysis of interictal magnetoencephalography data.

OBJECT: Magnetoencephalography (MEG) has been used for the preoperative localization of epileptic equivalent current dipoles (ECDs) in neocortical epilepsy. Spatial filtering can be applied to MEG data by means of synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM), and SAM virtual sensor analysis can be used to estimate the strength and temporal course of the epileptic source in the region of interest. To evaluate the clinical usefulness of this approach, the authors compare the results of SAM virtual sensor analysis to the results of ECD analysis, subdural electroencephalography (EEG) findings, and surgical outcomes in pediatric patients with neocortical epilepsy. METHODS: Ten pediatric patients underwent MEG, invasive subdural EEG, and cortical resection for neocortical epilepsy. The authors compared the morphological characteristics, quantity, location, and distribution of the epileptiform discharges assessed using SAM and ECD analysis, and subdural EEG findings (interictal discharges and ictal onset zones). In nine patients, MEG revealed clustered ECDs. The region exhibiting the maximum percentage (> or = 70%) of spikes/sharp waves on SAM was colocalized to clustered ECDs in seven patients. In six patients, SAM demonstrated focal spikes; in two, diffuse spikes; and in two others, focal rhythmic sharp waves. These epileptiform discharges were similar to those recorded on subdural EEG. In nine patients, concordant regions containing the maximum percentage of spikes/sharp waves were revealed by SAM and subdural EEG data. The region of the maximum percentage of spikes/sharp waves as demonstrated by SAM was colocalized to the ictal onset zone identified by subdural EEG findings in seven patients and partially colocalized in two. CONCLUSIONS: The SAM virtual sensor analysis revealed morphological characteristics, location, and distribution of epileptiform discharges similar to those shown by subdural EEG recordings. By using SAM it is possible to predict intracerebral interictal epileptiform discharges in the region of interest from noninvasively collected preoperative MEG data. The maximum interictal discharge zone identified by SAM virtual sensors correlated to clustered ECDs and the ictal onset zone on subdural EEG findings. Complementary analyses of ECDs and SAM on three-dimensional MR images can improve delineation of epileptogenic zones and lesions in neocortical epilepsy.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Localization of sensorimotor cortical rhythms induced by tactile stimulation using spatially filtered MEG.

We applied the synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM) spatial filtering method to localize sensorimotor mu (8-14 Hz) and beta (15-35 Hz) rhythms following tactile (brush) stimulation. Neuromagnetic activity was recorded from 10 adult subjects. Transient brush stimuli were applied separately to the right index finger, medial right toe and lower right lip. Differential images of mu and beta band source power were created for periods during (event-related desynchronization; ERD) or following (event-related synchronization; ERS) tactile stimulation, relative to prestimulus baseline activity. Mu ERD to finger brushing was localized to the contralateral somatosensory cortex and was organized somatotopically. Mu ERS, however, was not consistently observed for each subject. Beta ERD was consistently localized to sensory cortical areas and organized somatotopically in the post-central gyrus (SI), and beta ERS was observed to be organized motorotopically in the precentral gyrus (MI). Longer duration (2-3 s) stimulation of the index finger also produced beta ERS in the primary motor cortex, and its time course demonstrated that these oscillatory changes are an off-response to the termination of the presented sensory stimulus. Interestingly, lip and toe stimulation also produced post-stimulus increases in beta rhythms in the bilateral motor hand areas for all subjects, suggesting that common neural systems in the primary motor cortex are activated during tactile stimulation of different body regions.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Enhanced synchrony in epileptiform activity? Local versus distant phase synchronization in generalized seizures.

Synchronization is a fundamental characteristic of complex systems and a basic mechanism of self-organization. A traditional, accepted perspective on epileptiform activity holds that hypersynchrony covering large brain regions is a hallmark of generalized seizures. However, a few recent reports have described substantial fluctuations in synchrony before and during ictal events, thus raising questions as to the widespread synchronization notion. In this study, we used magnetoencephalographic recordings from epileptic patients with generalized seizures and normal control subjects to address the extent of the phase synchronization (phase locking) in local (neighboring) and distant cortical areas and to explore the ongoing temporal dynamics for particular ranges of frequencies at which synchrony occurs, during interictal and ictal activity. Synchronization patterns were found to differ somewhat depending on the epileptic syndrome, with primary generalized absence seizures displaying more long-range synchrony in all frequency bands studied (3-55 Hz) than generalized tonic motor seizures of secondary (symptomatic) generalized epilepsy or frontal lobe epilepsy. However, all seizures were characterized by enhanced local synchrony compared with distant synchrony. There were fluctuations in the synchrony between specific cortical areas that varied from seizure to seizure in the same patient, but in most of the seizures studied, regardless of semiology, there was a constant pattern in the dynamics of synchronization, indicating that seizures proceed by a recruitment of neighboring neuronal networks. Together, these data indicate that the concept of widespread "hypersynchronous" activity during generalized seizures may be misleading and valid only for very specific neuronal ensembles and circumstances.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Localization of auditory N1 in children using MEG: source modeling issues.

Techniques for localizing auditory (AEF) sources are a topic of on-going discussion and this is particularly pertinent in pediatric research. Smaller head sizes are: (1) subject to bilateral temporal lobe source interference from both temporal lobes; and (2) further from MEG sensors resulting in poorer signal-to-noise ratios. An additional consideration in children is that the components of the AEF have distinct contributions along the development spectrum resulting in an ever-changing morphology for the pediatric AEF. These factors present a complicated picture for dipole fitting and raise the question of the most effective fitting strategy. We examined the AEF localizations in five children from 151, 70 and 47 MEG channels of data. We found evidence that bilateral source interaction could result in localization errors along the medial-lateral axis of up to 1 cm. We suggest that any modeling strategy needs to sufficiently account for this interaction and more precise models allowing for multiple sources need to be developed.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed2003

Neuromagnetic imaging of cortical oscillations accompanying tactile stimulation.

We applied a new method of imaging frequency-specific changes in brain activity in humans during a finger brushing task in order to measure changes in cortical rhythms during tactile stimulation. Neuromagnetic recordings were conducted in five subjects using a whole-head MEG system during tactile stimulation of the right index finger, with or without visual feedback, and while viewing another individual's index finger being stimulated. Volumetric images of changes in source power relative to pre-stimulus baseline levels were computed with 2 mm resolution over the entire brain using a minimum-variance beamforming algorithm (synthetic aperture magnetometry). Onset of tactile stimulation produced a brief (200-300 ms) suppression of mu band (8-15 Hz) and beta band (15-30 Hz) cortical activity in the primary somatosensory and primary motor cortex, respectively, followed by a bilateral increase in beta band activity ('beta rebound') in motor cortex. This pattern of suppression/rebound was absent when subjects observed finger brushing or brushing motions without receiving stimulation. In contrast, these conditions resulted in bilateral increases in beta band activity in sensorimotor areas and decreased power in the alpha (8-12 Hz) band in primary visual areas. These results show that spatially filtered MEG provides a useful method for directly imaging the temporal sequence of changes in cortical rhythms during transient tactile stimulation, and provide evidence that observation of tactile input to another individual's hand, or object motion itself, can influence independent rhythmic activity in visual and sensorimotor cortex.

Adult↗