{"title":"Simulating prosopagnosia through a lesion of lateral connections in a feed-forward neural network.","authors":"E Pessa, P L Bandinelli, M P Penna","doi":"10.1007/s100720050007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s100720050007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We show that particular features of prosopagnosic impairment can be simulated by a connectionist model trained with an unsupervised learning procedure. In particular we describe a Kohonen's neural network which is able to correctly recognize and categorize a series of digitized pictures of faces when learning is characterized by certain parameter values, but which shows a prosopagnosic behavior when lateral connections are lesioned. We discuss the relationship between this result and some neurophysiological hypotheses about prosopagnosia.</p>","PeriodicalId":73522,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of neurological sciences","volume":"20 1","pages":"29-36"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1007/s100720050007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21772018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M Cincotta, F Tozzi, G Zaccara, A Borgheresi, S Lori, M Cosottini, R Cantello
{"title":"Motor imagery in a locked-in patient: evidence from transcranial magnetic stimulation.","authors":"M Cincotta, F Tozzi, G Zaccara, A Borgheresi, S Lori, M Cosottini, R Cantello","doi":"10.1007/s100720050008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s100720050008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) to transcranial magnetic stimulation were evaluated in a case of locked-in syndrome due to a large pontine infarction. In this patient, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and somatosensory evoked potentials demonstrated a tegmental involvement. One month after the attack, no MEP could be recorded from the right abductor digiti minimi (ADM) or either tibialis anterior muscle. On the contrary, MEPs were obtained from the left ADM, although with a prolonged latency and a reduced amplitude. When the patient was requested to think about the abduction of her paralyzed left little finger, the latency and the elicitability of these responses improved as compared with the relaxed condition. These severe MEP alterations correctly predicted a poor recovery of motor function in the chronic stage. However, although the tegmental involvement raises the question of an insufficient cortical motor arousal, preserved motor imagery suggested a normal cortical motor area activation.</p>","PeriodicalId":73522,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of neurological sciences","volume":"20 1","pages":"37-41"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1007/s100720050008","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21772019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The concept of consciousness: a challenge for the neuroscientist.","authors":"G Avanzini","doi":"10.1007/s100720050003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s100720050003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73522,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of neurological sciences","volume":"20 1","pages":"5-6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1007/s100720050003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21772603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
E Pisani, C Fattorello, M R Leotta, O Marcello, C Zuliani
{"title":"Recurrence of ibuprofen-induced aseptic meningitis in an otherwise healthy patient.","authors":"E Pisani, C Fattorello, M R Leotta, O Marcello, C Zuliani","doi":"10.1007/s100720050012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s100720050012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We report the case of a 74-year-old woman who had three episodes of aseptic meningitis in a period of 20 years. These episodes always occurred a few hours after the assumption of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) per os. Nevertheless, the pharmacological anamnesis did not receive proper attention, neither the first nor the second time, and the meningeal syndrome with aseptic liquor was attributed to a viral aggression. However, when the third episode occurred, due to the strict time correlation between the assumption of the drug and the occurrence of symptoms, both the results of the liquoral analysis and the anamnestic records allowed recognition of ibuprofen as the cause of acute meningitis.</p>","PeriodicalId":73522,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of neurological sciences","volume":"20 1","pages":"59-62"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1007/s100720050012","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21772023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
I W Tremont-Lukats, R Serbanescu, G M Teixeira, E Iriza, D E Hernández, C Schneider
{"title":"Multivariate analysis of primitive reflexes in patients with human immunodeficiency virus type-1 infection and neurocognitive dysfunction.","authors":"I W Tremont-Lukats, R Serbanescu, G M Teixeira, E Iriza, D E Hernández, C Schneider","doi":"10.1007/s100720050005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s100720050005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To prove that primitive reflexes are independent markers of symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) infection, a case-control study was carried out in a tertiary care, university teaching hospital. Thirty HIV-1-positive symptomatic cases, 30 seropositive asymptomatic controls and 30 HIV-1 seronegative controls consented to participate and were selected consecutively. A single examiner blinded to serostatus administered the Mini-Mental State Exam and a structured neurological exam to each participant. Up to 45% of cases had cognitive impairment. The occurrence of neurologic signs between seropositive cases and seropositive controls was similar, but the number of primitive reflexes was significantly higher in cases (P < 0.001). By multivariate discriminant analysis, all primitive reflexes but two correctly classified 83.3% of all participants (P = 0.0013). The model had a positive predictive value of 97% when motor, mood, and cognitive symptoms were added (P = 0.0001). Primitive reflexes were independent predictors of HIV-1 serostatus, especially for those with cognitive dysfunction. Primitive reflexes should be included in future case definitions of HIV-1-related neurocognitive disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":73522,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of neurological sciences","volume":"20 1","pages":"17-22"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1007/s100720050005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21772605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Innervation of the human epidermis. A historical review.","authors":"G Lauria","doi":"10.1007/s100720050013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s100720050013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Skin biopsy represents an attractive technique to evaluate the extensive innervation of human epidermis, as demonstrated by the immunoreactivity of the intra-epidermal nerve fibers to the marker protein gene product 9.5. Intra-epidermal nerve fibers can be reliably quantified, and their density correlates with both the presence and the severity of sensory neuropathy. The first description of nerve fibers within human epidermis was published by Paul Langerhans. However, the limitations imposed by the relatively insensitive staining methods led several investigators working during the following century to deny or minimize their existence. The author reviews the assumptions and the striking discrepancies emerging from the wide literature on cutaneous sensory terminations since the late nineteenth century and highlights the new developments emerging from the most recent works.</p>","PeriodicalId":73522,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of neurological sciences","volume":"20 1","pages":"63-70"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1007/s100720050013","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21772024","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Thromboembolic neurologic events in patients with antiphospholipid-antibody syndrome.","authors":"G L Lenzi, J Lenzi, C Mostardini","doi":"10.1007/s100720050002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s100720050002","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":73522,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of neurological sciences","volume":"20 1","pages":"3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1007/s100720050002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21772602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M de Tommaso, V Sciruicchio, R Bellotti, M Guido, G Sasanelli, L M Specchio, F Puca
{"title":"Photic driving response in primary headache: diagnostic value tested by discriminant analysis and artificial neural network classifiers.","authors":"M de Tommaso, V Sciruicchio, R Bellotti, M Guido, G Sasanelli, L M Specchio, F Puca","doi":"10.1007/s100720050006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s100720050006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of this study was to discriminate migraine patients (MWoA) from tension-type headache (TTH) patients and normals in order to confirm that the photic driving response in the medium frequency range is a marker of migraine and to test the hypothesis that MWoA and TTH are separate disorders based on electrophysiological pattern. We recruited 120 MWoA patients, 64 TTH patients, and 51 healthy controls without any history of headache or of migraine inheritance, according to International Headache Society (IHS) criteria. The classification method was discriminant analysis using both linear discriminant analysis with a stepwise selection of predictors and an artificial neural network classifier (NNs). The mean amplitude of the first harmonic elicited by flash stimulation in the 15-27 Hz range was significantly increased over Fp1, C3, C4, P4, O2, and O1 electrodes in MWoA and TTH patients in comparison with normal subjects. Using both classification methods, only the control subjects were correctly distinguished. When only the patient groups were matched, no significant difference was detectable. The increased brain response to visual stimulation detected in both migraine and TTH suggests a common neuronal dysfunction in the two headache subtypes.</p>","PeriodicalId":73522,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of neurological sciences","volume":"20 1","pages":"23-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1007/s100720050006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21772606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
R Keller, R Torta, M Lagget, S Crasto, B Bergamasco
{"title":"Psychiatric symptoms as late onset of Wilson's disease: neuroradiological findings, clinical features and treatment.","authors":"R Keller, R Torta, M Lagget, S Crasto, B Bergamasco","doi":"10.1007/s100720050010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s100720050010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We describe a case of Wilson's disease with late psychiatric onset. Major depressive disorder was the first clinical manifestation at the age of 38 years. After pharmacotherapy with antidepressive agents, a manic episode was observed. Extrapyramidal hand tremor and micrography were the first neurological signs. Emotional lability occurred during worsening of extrapyramidal signs. Diagnosis was based on urinary and serum copper levels, ceruloplasmin serum level, Kayser-Fleischer ring, and liver biopsy that detected cirrhosis. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed basal ganglia hyperintensity on T1-weighted images, and hypodensity in the central part and hyperintensity in the peripheral part of the lentiform nucleus on T2-weighted images. Hyperintensity on T2-weighted images was also observed in the dorsal part of the midbrain. 123I-iodobenzamide single photon emission computed tomography (IBZM-SPECT) detected a normal distribution of the drug in the brain, with better signal in the right side and deficit of D2-dopaminergic receptors in the basal ganglia. Abnormal manganese erythrocyte level was observed. Treatment was based on penicillamine, zinc salts, low-copper diet, antidepressant agents, interpersonal psychotherapy and neurorehabilitation.</p>","PeriodicalId":73522,"journal":{"name":"Italian journal of neurological sciences","volume":"20 1","pages":"49-54"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1999-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1007/s100720050010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"21772021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}