Masumi Inagaki

Direct inhibitory projection of pontine omnipause neurons to burst neurons in the Forel's field H controlling vertical eye movement-related motoneurons in the cat

SummaryThis study examines the nature of the efferent projection of omnipause neurons (OPNs) in the midline pontine tegmentum to medium-lead burst neurons (BNs) in the Forels field H (FFH), both of which exhibit activities related to vertical eye movements, using chronically prepared alert cats. Antidromic spikes of the BNs evoked by oculomotor nucleus stimulation were suppressed by shortly preceding (less than 5 ms) microstimulation within the OPN area including actual recording sites of OPNs. Many OPNs were antidromically activated by microstimulation at recording sites of the BNs. Furthermore, systematic tracking in and around the FFH with the stimulating microelectrode substantiated that the OPNs issued axonal branches within the BN area. These results suggest direct inhibitory projection of OPNs to the BNs.

Characteristic EEG findings in ring 20 syndrome as a diagnostic clue

OBJECTIVE To review the EEG features of ring 20 syndrome in two patients and determine the characteristic pattern of this syndrome. The features of our cases and 24 patients reported in the literature will be discussed. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Report of two patients and review of literature. RESULTS The two patients had intractable epilepsy since childhood. Their clinical seizures were mostly complex partial seizures. Often the patients seizures were of prolonged duration. Ictal EEG revealed characteristic slow waves, and sharp waves. The slow waves were (1) usually synchronous high-voltage slow waves with or without a spike component predominantly in the frontal and frontopolar areas, (2) sometimes showed a change in frequency every several seconds, (3) continued for a long period, and (4) easily spread diffusely. The sharp waves were 5-6 Hz irregular and diffuse discontinuous sharp waves, and sometimes appeared predominantly in the centroparietal area. The clinical seizure pattern and EEG findings were similar in the 24 published cases. CONCLUSIONS These EEG findings may be a characteristic feature of ring 20 syndrome and thus may be useful as a diagnostic clue.

Reduced prefrontal hemodynamic response in children with ADHD during the Go/NoGo task: a NIRS study.

The current study examined the hemodynamic response during the Go/NoGo task in children with/without attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Using near-infrared spectroscopy, oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb concentration changes in the frontal areas were compared during the conditions with/without inhibitory demand. Compared with typically developing children, children with ADHD showed significantly reduced activation during the conditions with inhibitory demand (NoGo-condition) in the frontal areas. However, no significant differences in activation during the conditions without inhibitory demand (Go-condition) were found between the two groups. The current findings revealed that children with ADHD exhibit an altered hemodynamic response specifically during response inhibition, but not during response execution, and suggested the clinical usefulness of near-infrared spectroscopy for the evaluation of response inhibition deficits in children with ADHD.

Functional and morphometrical maturation of the brainstem auditory pathway.

The correlation between the functional and morphological maturation of the auditory pathway was studied in preterm and term infants, children and adults. As to the auditory brainstem response (ABR), peak latencies and I-V interpeak latencies (central transmission) gradually decreased during the third trimester and the first 2 years postnatally. The calculated pontine auditory conduction velocity (PACV) showed dramatic development, which may indicate a more precise auditory function. The PACV value at the age of 2-4 years was almost the same as that of adults. In a histomorphometrical study, the density of nerve cells in the cochlear nucleus and the inferior colliculus was found to decrease with age, that in the inferior colliculus decreasing more slowly. Myelination in the lateral lemniscus proceeded from the late fetal to the infantile period, and the myelin sheaths of large diameter increased mainly in the infantile period. Thus, on studying ABR in combination with the quantitative histomorphometrical investigation, the development of PACV was found to be related to the maturation of nerve cells in the upper nuclei corresponding to each latency as well as myelination of small and large fibers in the auditory pathway. PACV, which can be calculated by studying ABR and magnetic resonance imaging, may be used to assess more accurately the brainstem function in individual patients.

Neurobehavioral and hemodynamic evaluation of Stroop and reverse Stroop interference in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Failure of executive function (EF) is a core symptom of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, various results have been reported and sufficient evidence is lacking. In the present study, we evaluated the characteristics of children with ADHD using the Stroop task (ST) and reverse Stroop task (RST) that reflects the inhibition function of EF. We compared children with ADHD, typically developing children (TDC), and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is more difficult to discriminate from ADHD. A total of 10 children diagnosed with ADHD, 15 TDC, and 11 children diagnosed with ASD, all matched by age, sex, language ability, and intelligence quotient, participated in this study. While each subject performed computer-based ST and RST with a touch panel, changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) were measured in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to correlate test performance with neural activity. Behavioral performance significantly differed among 3 groups during RST but not during ST. The ADHD group showed greater color interference than the TDC group. In addition, there was a negative correlation between right lateral PFC (LPFC) activity and the severity of attention deficit. Children with ADHD exhibit several problems associated with inhibition of color, and this symptom is affected by low activities of the right LPFC. In addition, it is suggested that low hemodynamic activities in this area are correlated with ADHD.

Prognosis and MRI after ischemic stroke of the basal ganglia

The clinical courses and long-term prognoses in 16 young patients with infarctions of the basal ganglia were evaluated and the recent magnetic resonance imaging findings in 9 of them were examined. Only 5 of 14 patients (35%) had motor sequelae, 4 had hemiparesis, and 1 had gait disturbance. Secondary dystonia occurred in 1 patient. Magnetic resonance imaging disclosed a circumscribed lesion in the basal ganglia, as reflected by T2 high- and T1 low-intensity signals, in all patients. The abnormal region on T2-weighted images usually was more extensive than that observed on T1-weighted ones. The hemiplegic patients each had an area of abnormal intensity in the internal capsule or corona radiata with relatively high signals on the T2- and proton-density-weighted images. Mild to moderate asymmetric atrophy of the midbrain on the side ipsilateral to the stroke lesion was observed in 8 of 9 patients. The mechanism involved may be remote transsynaptic neuronal death of the substantia nigra, as well as Wallerian degeneration of the pyramidal tract.

An electrophysiologically defined trigemino-reticulo-facial pathway related to the blink reflex in the cat

This study examines the direct projection of neurons in the pontomedullary reticular formation (RF) to the dorsal division of the facial nucleus (FN), where the orbicularis oculi motoneuron pool is located, and the nature of synaptic inputs to the RF neurons from the supraorbital branch of the trigeminal nerve (SON), using electrophysiological techniques in anesthetized cats. A large number of the RF neurons directly projected to the ipsilateral FN dorsal division, and some of these neurons issued axon branches probably terminating on motoneurons in the division. Many of the RF neurons projecting to the dorsal division were synaptically activated by ipsilateral SON stimulation. Most latencies of their activation were between the latencies of the early and late blink reflex responses, and the remaining latencies were shorter than those of the early response. These results suggest that the RF neurons mediate both the early and the late blink reflex responses, but mainly the late response, as premotor relay neurons.

Increased Prefrontal Oxygenation Related to Distractor-Resistant Working Memory in Children with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

This study aimed at investigating the effect of distraction on working memory and its underlying neural mechanisms in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). To this end, we studied hemodynamic activity in the prefrontal cortex using near-infrared spectroscopy while 16 children with ADHD and 10 typically developing (TD) children performed a working memory task. This task had two conditions: one involved a distraction during the memory delay interval, whereas the other had no systematic distraction. The ADHD patients showed significantly poorer behavioral performance compared with the TD group, particularly under the distraction. The ADHD group exhibited significantly higher level of prefrontal activation than did TD children. The activity level was positively correlated with the severity of ADHD symptoms. These results suggest that the impairment in the inhibition of distraction is responsible for the working memory deficits observed in ADHD children. Inefficient processing in the prefrontal cortex appears to underlie such deficits.

Developmental changes of distortion product and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions in different age groups

The developmental changes of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) were evaluated in 275 normal subjects aged from 1 month to 39 years. The DP-grams showed an M-shaped pattern with peaks at 1587 Hz and 5042 Hz for all age groups. In subjects younger than 3 years, low frequency DPOAEs did not rise above the noise floor. The DP levels at high frequency (5042 Hz) did not change much from infancy to young adulthood (12.9-16.5 dB SPL), however, those at low and middle frequency significantly decreased with age. Total echo power (TEP) of TEOAE was greatest in early infancy, decreased rapidly before 6-7 years old, and then decreased gradually (TEP = 16.6 - 1.9 X ln (age)). Wave reproducibility was constant across age. The frequency area peak power (FAPP) to middle and high frequency sounds changed little with age, however, FAPP at low frequency sounds dramatically increased with age. FAPP at 5000 Hz was relatively depressed levels at each age. The TEOAE value was more prominent at middle and low frequencies while DPOAE was predominant at high frequencies. These two measurements may reflect different functions of outer hair cells in the developing cochlea.

Hypoxia-induced ABR change and heat shock protein expression in the pontine auditory pathway of young rabbits

The auditory brainstem response (ABR) was compared with the immunohistochemical expression of heat shock protein (HSP-72) and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2) of the brainstem auditory pathway in young rabbits subjected to hypoxic stress. Severe hypoxia for 2 h produced significant prolongation and decreased amplitude of the later component of ABR. HSP-72 expression was distinctly increased in the cochlear nucleus, but there was less induction in the inferior colliculus under severe hypoxia. MAP-2 immunostaining of neuropiles in the inferior collicular nucleus was decreased slightly after severe-long hypoxia, but cytoplasmic staining did not change. The present ABR change, which was produced by brainstem hypoxia-ischemia and acidosis, may be due to the neural cytoarchitectural derangement and less induction of stress proteins in the upper brainstem.