Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Nov 2003
Defining a role for the subthalamic nucleus within operative theoretical models of subcortical participation in language.
To investigate the effects of bilateral, surgically induced functional inhibition of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) on general language, high level linguistic abilities, and semantic processing skills in a group of patients with Parkinson's disease. ⋯ Bilateral STN-DBS affects certain aspects of linguistic functioning, supporting a potential role for the STN in the mediation of language processes.
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Ion channels provide the basis for the regulation of electrical excitability in the central and peripheral nervous systems. This review deals with the techniques that make the study of structure and function of single channel molecules in living cells possible. These are the patch clamp technique, which was derived from the conventional voltage clamp method and is currently being developed for automated and high throughput measurements; and fluorescence and nano-techniques, which were originally applied to non-biological surfaces and are only recently being used to study cell membranes and their proteins, especially in combination with the patch clamp technique. The characterisation of the membrane channels by techniques that resolve their morphological and physical properties and dynamics in space and time in the nano range is termed nanoscopy.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Nov 2003
Clinical TrialMood changes with deep brain stimulation of STN and GPi: results of a pilot study.
The results of this study suggest that there are mood changes associated with deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and the globus pallidus interna (GPi). Further, optimal placement of electrodes in both STN and GPi seems to result in overall improvement in mood and is associated with a lower incidence of adverse mood effects than stimulation outside the optimal site. Preliminary data from this study, however, suggest that slight movement dorsal or ventral to the site of optimal motor performance may be associated with more adverse changes in mood with STN stimulation than with GPi stimulation.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Nov 2003
Clinical TrialSpinal cord MRI in clinically isolated optic neuritis.
One hundred and fifteen patients with clinically isolated optic neuritis underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and spinal cord within 3 months of the onset of symptoms. ⋯ Using existing criteria, spinal cord imaging rarely contributes to the diagnosis in patients with clinically isolated optic neuritis.