Theo Gasser

Transformations towards the normal distribution of broad band spectral parameters of the EEG

In this report transformations are evaluated for obtaining normally distributed broad band spectral parameters (both for absolute and relative power) in a sample of healthy individuals. This problem leads automatically to the question of defining a normative sample, both in terms of sampling and recording conditions; as to the latter, the electro-oculogram proved to be crucial. For relative power the transformation log(x/(1-x)) was excellent in all regards, whereas the best transformation for absolute power--log(x)--was not fully satisfactory for all bands.

Development of the EEG of school-age children and adolescents. I. Analysis of band power

Development in quantitative EEG parameters is studied for a sample of 158 normal children and adolescents aged 6-17 years. This is of interest both for increasing basic knowledge of human neurophysiology and for obtaining age standardized norms, useful in clinical research and applications. After selecting an appropriate epoch and correcting for EOG artifacts, the EEG at 8 derivations was submitted to spectral analysis in order to extract broad-band parameters in absolute and relative power. Change in EEG band power across age was quantified by polynomial regression analysis. This opened automatically the possibility to obtain age-standardized EEG norms. Development was for most EEG parameters non-linear, with more pronounced changes for absolute than for relative power. No sex differences and no pubertal spurt could be identified in contrast to most somatic quantities. A detailed statistical analysis revealed, however, that this might be due to using cross-sectional data. All bands except for alpha 2 decreased in absolute power, whereas the fast bands increased and the slow bands decreased in relative power. Strong evidence was found for a substituting process between theta activity and fast alpha activity.

EEG coherence in Alzheimer disease

A novel approach is introduced to examine EEG coherence in different frequency bands of 17 locations from the 10-20 system. Fifty patients with clinically diagnosed Alzheimers disease were compared with 42 age-approximated non-demented controls. We determined the average coherence between individual electrodes and all neighbouring electrodes. Coherence was decreased in the sample of demented patients and this effect was most pronounced in the frontal and central derivations of the theta, alpha and beta frequency bands. The results can be interpreted as the effects of neuronal loss and neocortical disconnection.

Locally Adaptive Bandwidth Choice for Kernel Regression Estimators

Abstract Kernel estimators with a global bandwidth are commonly used to estimate regression functions. On the other hand, it is obvious that the choice of a local bandwidth can lead to better results, because a larger class of kernel estimators is available. Evidently, this may in turn affect variability. The optimal bandwidths depend essentially on the regression function itself and on the residual variance, and it is desirable to estimate them from the data. In this article, a local bandwidth estimator is studied. A comparison with its global bandwidth equivalent is performed both in theory and in simulations. As the main result it is shown that the possible gain in mean integrated squared error of the resulting regression estimator must be paid for by a larger variability of the estimator. This may lead to worse results if the sample size is small. An algorithm has been devised that puts special weight on stability aspects. Our simulation study shows that improvements over a global bandwidth estimator ...

Development of the EEG of school-age children and adolescents. II: Topography

Topographic aspects of EEG development of normal children and adolescents from 6 to 17 years are investigated with respect to various spectral parameters. The topographic distribution of spectral band power does not change between hemispheres across age. Changes take place, however, in the antero-posterior dimension. For the bands theta, alpha 1 and alpha 2 (and less so for delta) maturation starts at posterior derivations and ends at anterior derivations. For the band beta 2 (and to some extent also for beta 1), development progresses from Cz to Pz and further to occipital, lateral, central and frontal derivations. Principal component analysis (PCA) leads to a more parsimonious and better interpretable description of broad-band power and of its topographic distribution. Broad-band coherences increase with age, though to a modest degree. The different magnitudes of coherence between different regions can be largely accounted for by the interelectrode distances. Coherences, too, can be described in a more parsimonious and better interpretable way via PCA. The 3 components extracted reflect firstly the overall level of coherence, secondly the coherences of the occipital regions with all other regions and thirdly antero-posterior versus left-right coherences.

Quantitative EEG analysis in early onset Alzheimer's disease: a controlled study

We report EEG findings in 15 presenile Alzheimer patients (probable Alzheimers disease according to NINCDS-ADRDA criteria) and 15 age-matched controls. The quantitative EEG was analysed with respect to absolute power for each frequency band at each location accounting for EOG and EMG artifacts respectively. Compared to controls patients showed an increase of power in the slow frequency bands delta and theta which occurred quite uniformly over the different brain regions. In contrast, the decrease of the power of the fast frequency bands alpha 2, beta 1 and beta 2 was accentuated over temporo-parietal regions. In the fast bands patients had a rather flat topographic power profile. The alpha activity was on the average still of a rhythmic nature but the peak frequency was slowed. Differences in slow and fast frequency bands were more pronounced on the left hemisphere.

Plasma triglycerides and three lipoprotein cholesterol fractions are independent predictors of the extent of coronary atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND The lipoprotein system has manifold links to atherosclerotic disease. LDL cholesterol is related to lesion formation and growth. The cholesterol of HDLs is indicative of protection against atherosclerosis. The status of triglycerides and of subfractions of high-density lipoproteins as risk factors is less certain. Also, the magnitude of the atherogenic/protective power of these factors is not known. METHODS AND RESULTS Five hundred patients (418 men and 82 women) were enrolled in an angiographic study. A total of 1006 coronary lesions with > or = 50% narrowing were recorded as study end points. By extent of atherosclerosis, defined as the number of > or = 50% lesions, the study subjects were allocated to one of four ordered categories with 0, 1 to 3, 4 to 6, or 7 to 10 lesions, respectively. Subfractions of HDL cholesterol were determined by a dual precipitation method. By a polychotomous logistic regression model, it was found that, besides age and sex, LDL cholesterol, HDL2 cholesterol, HDL3 cholesterol, and triglycerides were independently predictive (P < .05) of the extent of coronary atherosclerosis. An increase in age by 10 years was associated with an increase of the odds ratio for falling into a higher-extent category by a factor of 1.64, and the same increase of the odds ratio was obtained by increasing LDL cholesterol by 0.92 mmol/L or triglycerides by 1.01 mmol/L and by decreasing HDL2 cholesterol by 0.20 mmol/L or HDL3 cholesterol by 0.46 mmol/L. The less sensitive coronary end point, presence of atherosclerosis (ie, observation of > or = 1 lesion of > or = 50%) depended significantly on age, sex, LDL cholesterol, and HDL2 cholesterol, but not on HDL3 cholesterol or triglycerides. CONCLUSIONS In addition to LDL, HDL2, and HDL3 cholesterol, triglycerides also proved independently predictive of the extent of coronary atherosclerosis.

Searching for Structure in Curve Samples

Abstract The shape of a regression curve can to a large extent be characterized by the succession of structural features like extrema, inflection points, and so on. When analyzing a sample of regression curves, it is often important to know at an early stage of data analysis which structural features are occurring consistently in each curve of the sample. Such a definition is usually not easy due to substantial interindividual variation both in the x and the y axis and due to the influence of noise. A method is proposed for identifying typical features without relying on an a priori specified functional model for the curves. The approach is based on the frequencies of occurrence of structural features, as, for example, maxima in the curve sample along the x axis. Important tools are nonparametric regression and differentiation and kernel density estimation. Apart from a theoretical foundation, the usefulness of the method is documented by application to two interesting biomedical areas: growth and develop...

Pubertal Growth in Chronic Renal Failure

ABSTRACT: We evaluated the growth records of 15 boys and 14 girls who developed end-stage renal failure before or during puberty and who were regularly followed from the onset to the end of their pubertal growth spurt. Height data were smoothed by using the kernel estimation method. Mean values for age, height, and height velocity at defined points of the pubertal growth period were compared with those of normal children entering puberty both at an average and late age. The start of the pubertal growth spurt was delayed by 2.5 y in both sexes. Its duration and intensity were significantly reduced. Mean pubertal height gain was 17.3 cm in boys and 13.9 cm in girls, i.e. 58 and 48% of that observed in the late maturing control group. Mean height at the onset of the pubertal spurt in the patients was the same as that in the late maturing healthy girls and 1.0 SD below that of corresponding boys. During the pubertal growth spurt, mean height declined to—2.9 SD in boys and - 2 .3 SD in girls. Although skeletal maturation was increasingly retarded, we did not observe accelerated growth velocity during late puberty. Our data indicate that most patients reaching end-stage renal failure before or during puberty irreversibly lose growth potential during this period. Renal transplantation did not consistently improve pubertal growth.

An analysis of the mid-growth and adolescent spurts of height based on acceleration

Height growth between four weeks and 20 years of 45 boys and 45 girls from the Zürich Longitudinal Growth Study (1955-1976) was analysed using kernel estimates. Timings of the mid-growth spurt (MS) and of the pubertal spurt (PS) were determined in an automatic way from the individual acceleration curves, together with height, percentage of height, velocity and acceleration at these ages. The small mid-growth spurt is a consistent phenomenon, peaking at 6.4 years (M,F) in acceleration and at 7.7 years (M) and 7.5 years (F) in velocity. There are no significant sex differences in its intensity. In girls, the PS follows in close succession to the MS; in boys there is a substantial period in between. In addition to the age of peak height velocity, ages of onset, maximal acceleration and end of the PS are defined. Sex differences in timing and size of the pubertal peak previously established were again verified. New results relate to the asymmetry of the PS, which is more pronounced in girls, and to sex differences in intensity and duration of the first rising phase of the PS. After this phase, boys and girls do not differ in timing but only in the intensity of deceleration.