Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology
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Changes in cardiovascular measures have been advocated as sensitive markers of phasic events arising from sleep. The current study was aimed to analyse the effects of periodic leg movements (PLMS) on heart rate variability (HRV) during NREM sleep in patients having restless legs syndrome and periodic leg movements during sleep. ⋯ Spectral HRV measures may offer a simple approach to estimate the degree of autonomic changes occurring in relation to periodic leg movements in restless legs patients.
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Studies on lateralization of cerebral metabolism during Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), a well-known paradigm of category learning, have shown mixed results. Moreover, sorting dimension (number, color and shape) is a cofounder of laterality in WCST. Functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD) has a high temporal resolution and allows the measurement of mean cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) in the middle (MCA) and anterior cerebral arteries (ACA), which supply lateral and medial parts of the frontal and parietal lobes, respectively. We used fTCD to investigate CBFV changes occurring in both MCA and ACA during WCST and different sorting dimensions. ⋯ Functional transcranial Doppler sonography can be used to assess CBFV during WCST and different sorting dimensions, and the latter modulate reaction time and cerebral hemodynamics.
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Acute anemia slows the responses to clinical tests of cognitive function. We tested the hypothesis that these slowed responses during acute severe isovolemic anemia in healthy unmedicated humans result from impaired central processing. ⋯ The P300 latency appears to be a potential measure of inadequate central oxygenation. In healthy young adults with acute anemia, erythrocytes should be transfused to produce Hb>5-6 g/dL. As a temporizing measure, administration of oxygen can reverse the cognitive deficits and impaired central processing associated with acute anemia.