Stefan Knecht

Input-increase and input-decrease types of cortical reorganization after upper extremity amputation in humans

Abstract A plastic remodeling of regions in somatosensory cortex has previously been observed to occur in separate experimental paradigms in response to loss of somatosensory input and to increase in input. In this study, both types of cortical reorganization have been observed to occur concurrently in the same adult human nervous system as a result of a single intervention. Following upper extremity amputation, magnetic source imaging revealed that tactile stimulation of the lip evoked responses not only in the area of the somatosensory cortex corresponding to the face, but also within the cortical region that would normally correspond to the now absent hand. This “invasion” of the cortical amputation zone was accompanied by a significant increase in the size of the representation of the digits of the intact hand, presumably as a result of an increased importance of sensory stimulation consequent to increased dependence on that hand imposed by the loss of the contralateral extremity.

Cortical reorganization in human amputees and mislocalization of painful stimuli to the phantom limb.

In human arm amputees, a significant relationship was found between the amount of reorganization in the primary somato-sensory cortex, and the amount of body surface from which painful stimuli evoked sensations that were perceived to be emanating from the now missing extremity, i.e. the phantom limb. This mislocalization could be evoked almost equally from stimulation of either side of the body. Based on these findings obtained by magnetic source imaging and psychophysical testing in eight amputees, it is concluded that the extent of the generally known cortical reorganization contralateral to the amputation is an indicator of more widespread plastic changes in the brain involving bilateral pathways.

Parallel and serial processing of haptic information in man: Effects of parietal lesions on sensorimotor hand function

Recent animal studies have shown that there is an evolutionary shift within the order of primates from parallel to serial processing of haptic information. In an attempt to determine whether there is also evidence of serial processing in humans 10 patients with parietal cortical lesions, three patients with subcortical lesions and one patient after hemispherectomy, were examined. Case-by-case and across subject analysis of lesion type, sensorimotor profile and electrophysiological findings showed that in unihemispheric lesions: (a) there is little impairment of thermesthesia, nociception and vibration sense: (b) two-point discrimination and integrity of the N20 somatosensory component are highly correlated; (c) a loss of the N20 component is accompanied by a severe impairment of stereognosis; (d) conversely, in more posterior lesions astereognosis can occur with an intact N20 component; and (e) if the lesion is in the right hemisphere there is frequently impairment of graphesthesia in both hands. These data are taken to indicate serial processing from SI (as evidenced by an intact N20 component) to posterior parietal cortex allowing progressive spatial and temporal integration. In graphesthesia our data suggest an integrative function of the right parietal cortex for both sides of the body. Other sensory qualities like vibration nociception and thermesthesia are apparently processed in a non-serial, probably parallel way involving both hemispheres. The effects of cerebral lesions in our series suggest parallel as well as serial processing of somesthetic information in man underlying the perception of different haptic features.

Altered force release control in Parkinson's disease

Isometric force tracking and force aiming modified by visual feed-back was investigated in Parkinsonian (PD) and control subjects. Production and maintenance of isometric force, production and release of isotonic force, and maximum force were tested. Statistical analysis revealed that the PD patients could perform most force tasks in a similar manner to that of control subjects. However, PD patients had difficulties in sustaining target force over a 30-s period and in performing rapid alternating movements. The major finding in PD patients was an inability to precisely release a target force. Overall these data suggest that the release of a produced force is a sensitive motor control parameter in Parkinsons disease.

Large-scale parallel configuration interaction. II. Two- and four-component double-group general active space implementation with application to BiH.

We present a parallel implementation of a large-scale relativistic double-group configuration interaction (CI) program. It is applicable with a large variety of two- and four-component Hamiltonians. The parallel algorithm is based on a distributed data model in combination with a static load balancing scheme. The excellent scalability of our parallelization scheme is demonstrated in large-scale four-component multireference CI (MRCI) benchmark tests on two of the most common computer architectures, and we also discuss hardware-dependent aspects with respect to possible speedup limitations. With the new code we have been able to calculate accurate spectroscopic properties for the ground state and the first excited state of the BiH molecule using extensive basis sets. We focused, in particular, on an accurate description of the splitting of these two states which is caused by spin-orbit coupling. Our largest parallel MRCI calculation thereby comprised an expansion length of 2.7x10(9) Slater determinants.

Multi-configuration time-dependent density-functional theory based on range separation.

Multi-configuration range-separated density-functional theory is extended to the time-dependent regime. An exact variational formulation is derived. The approximation, which consists in combining a long-range Multi-Configuration-Self-Consistent Field (MCSCF) treatment with an adiabatic short-range density-functional (DFT) description, is then considered. The resulting time-dependent multi-configuration short-range DFT (TD-MC-srDFT) model is applied to the calculation of singlet excitation energies in H2, Be, and ferrocene, considering both short-range local density (srLDA) and generalized gradient (srGGA) approximations. As expected, when modeling long-range interactions with the MCSCF model instead of the adiabatic Buijse-Baerends density-matrix functional as recently proposed by Pernal [J. Chem. Phys. 136, 184105 (2012)], the description of both the 1(1)D doubly-excited state in Be and the 1(1)Σu(+) state in the stretched H2 molecule are improved, although the latter is still significantly underestimated. Exploratory TD-MC-srDFT/GGA calculations for ferrocene yield in general excitation energies at least as good as TD-DFT using the Coulomb attenuated method based on the three-parameter Becke-Lee-Yang-Parr functional (TD-DFT/CAM-B3LYP), and superior to wave-function (TD-MCSCF, symmetry adapted cluster-configuration interaction) and TD-DFT results based on LDA, GGA, and hybrid functionals.

Phantom sensations following acute pain.

Abstract In human amputees with painful phantom sensations, mislocalizations of tactile stimuli to the phantom increase with the amount of cortical representational reorganization and the extent of phantom pain. A similar phenomenon was incidentally encountered in healthy subjects. For reasons unrelated to the question of mislocalization, we performed a study involving the application of experimental acute pain to the hand followed by non‐noxious tactile stimulation of the ipsilateral lip. During lip stimulation, two out of six subjects spontaneously reported perceiving an additional phantom‐like sensation in the hand synchronously to the non‐noxious lip stimulation. Similar, although more diffuse, phantom sensations were observed in two out of seven additional subjects who were then tested specifically for this effect. The observation is compatible with a pain‐induced hyperresponsiveness of the cortical hand area to somatotopically adjacent inputs from the lip. This suggests that, even in the absence of deafferentation, pain can lead to a representational reorganization.

Large-scale parallel configuration interaction. I. Nonrelativistic and scalar-relativistic general active space implementation with application to (Rb–Ba)+

We present a parallel implementation of a string-driven general active space configuration interaction program for nonrelativistic and scalar-relativistic electronic-structure calculations. The code has been modularly incorporated in the DIRAC quantum chemistry program package. The implementation is based on the message passing interface and a distributed data model in order to efficiently exploit key features of various modern computer architectures. We exemplify the nearly linear scalability of our parallel code in large-scale multireference configuration interaction (MRCI) calculations, and we discuss the parallel speedup with respect to machine-dependent aspects. The largest sample MRCI calculation includes 1.5x10(9) Slater determinants. Using the new code we determine for the first time the full short-range electronic potentials and spectroscopic constants for the ground state and for eight low-lying excited states of the weakly bound molecular system (Rb-Ba)+ with the spin-orbit-free Dirac formalism and using extensive uncontracted basis sets. The time required to compute to full convergence these electronic states for (Rb-Ba)+ in a single-point MRCI calculation correlating 18 electrons and using 16 cores was reduced from more than 10 days to less than 1 day.

Facilitation of somatosensory evoked potentials by exploratory finger movements

Modification of somatosensory processing depending on the behavioral setting was studied. Active alternating movements of the fingers, passive tactile stimuli to the hand, and active exploration of objects were performed during recording of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs). SEPs were elicited by compound electrical median nerve stimulation and electrical stimulation at detection threshold of cutaneous median nerve fascicles identified by microneurography. Electrical stimulation was not time-locked to the studied condition.In comparison with SEPs at rest there was attenuation of early cortical potentials up to 25 ms post-trigger in all nonresting conditions. In stimulation of the compound median nerve as well as of isolated cutaneous fascicles of a hand actively exploring an object there was an additional increased negativity, peaking at 28 ms. This facilitory effect was independent of attentional focusing and was absent during exploration using the ipsilateral, non-electrically stimulated hand. In patients with parietal lesions the facilitatory effect was diminished on the affected side. Spline interpolated brain maps at this latency based on 32channel recordings in healthy volunteers showed a shift of local contralateral positive maximum from frontal to parietal during exploration, indicating enhancement of a tangential dipole. It is suggested that in conditions involving close sensorimotor interaction such as exploratory hand movements there is preactivation of a cortical area which is located in the central sulcus and receives cutaneous somatosensory inputs.

On the Photophysics of Carotenoids: A Multireference DFT Study of Peridinin

We present a quantum-mechanical investigation of the photophysics of a specific carotenoid, peridinin, which is present in light-harvesting complexes. The fundamental role played by the geometry in determining the position and character of its low-lying singlet electronic states is investigated using a multireference DFT approach in combination with a continuum solvation model. The main photophysical properties of peridinin appear to be governed by the lowest two singlet excited states, as no evidence points to an intermediate S* state and the energies of the upper excited states are too high to allow their population with excitation in the visible range. These two excited states (S1, 2(1)A(g)(-) and S2, 1(1)B(u)(+)) are highly connected through the conjugation path here characterized by the value of the bond length alternation (BLA). The S1 and S2 states present distinct natures for small BLA values, whereas for larger ones they become more similar in terms of both brightness and dipolar character and their energies become closer. The geometrical issue is thus of fundamental importance for a correct interpretation of the spectroscopic signatures of peridinin.