Alpha rhythm and hypofrontality in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: To reveal the EEG correlates of resting hypofrontality in schizophrenia (SZ). METHOD: We analyzed the whole-head EEG topography in 14 patients compared to 14 matched controls by applying a new parameterization of the multichannel EEG. We used a combination of power measures tuned for regional surface mapping with power measures that allow evaluation of global effects. RESULTS: The SZ-related EEG abnormalities include i) a global decrease in absolute EEG power robustly manifested in the alpha and beta frequency bands, and ii) a relative increase in the alpha power over the prefrontal brain regions against its reduction over the posterior regions. In the alpha band both effects are linked to the SZ symptoms measured with Positive and Negative Symptom Scales and to chronicity. CONCLUSION: As alpha activity is related to regional deactivation, our findings support the concept of hypofrontality in SZ and expose the alpha rhythm as a sensitive indicator of it.

Vision after early-onset lesions of the occipital cortex: II. Physiological studies.

In one of two patients (MS and FJ) with bilateral, early-onset lesion of the primary visual cortex, Kiper et al. (2002) observed a considerable degree of functional recovery. To clarify the physiological mechanisms involved in the recovery, we used fMRI and quantitative EEG to study both patients. The fMRI investigations indicated that in both patients, isolated islands of the primary visual cortex are functioning, in the right hemisphere in MS and in the left in FJ. The functional recovery observed in MS roughly correlated with the functional maturation of interhemispheric connections and might reflect the role of corticocortical connectivity in visual perception. The functionality of interhemispheric connections was assessed by analyzing the changes in occipital inter-hemispheric coherence of EEG signals (ICoh) evoked by moving gratings. In the patient MS, this ICoh response was present at 7:11 y and was more mature at 9:2 y. In the more visually impaired patient, FJ, a consistent increase in ICoh to visual stimuli could not be obtained, possibly because of the later occurrence of the lesion.

EEG coherence studies in the normal brain and after early-onset cortical pathologies.

Visual corpus callosum (CC) preferentially interconnects neurons selective for similar stimulus orientation near the representations of the vertical meridian. These properties allow studying the CC functionality with EEG coherence analysis. Iso-oriented and orthogonally-oriented gratings were presented to the two hemifields, either close to the vertical meridian or far from it. In animals with intact CC, and in man, interhemispheric coherence (ICoh) increased only with iso-oriented gratings presented near or crossing the vertical meridian. The increase was localized to occipital electrodes and was specific for the beta-gamma frequency band. Visual-stimulus induced changes in ICoh were studied in patients with early pathologies of the visual areas. From a girl with abnormal vision and severe bilateral lesion of the primary visual areas at 3 weeks, after premature birth at 30 weeks, we obtained no ICoh response until 9 years. In control children visual stimulation increased occipital ICoh at 6-7 years. From a young man having suffered similar lesions when he was 9 months older than the girl, no consistent increase in ICoh could be obtained. In a 14-year-old girl with congenital visual agnosia, no visible lesions, but with a temporal-occipital epileptic focus, ICoh responses were evoked both by iso-oriented, and by orthogonally-oriented gratings. In a young man with bilateral parieto-occipital microgyria extending into the calcarine sulcus, visual stimuli increased ICoh as in normal individuals, but the response was weaker. These cases are discussed in terms of development of CC connections and point to a variety of plastic changes in the cortical connectivity of children.

Functional activation of microgyric visual cortex in a human.

We report on the case of a 20-year-old man with bilateral parasagittal parieto-occipital polymicrogyria and epilepsy. Functional magnetic resonance imaging responses to reversing checkerboard and interhemispheric electroencephalogram coherence changes to moving gratings were investigated. Results of both studies indicate that the polymicrogyric cortex was activated by visual stimuli, suggesting preserved function in the dysplastic area.

Visual stimulus-dependent changes in interhemispheric EEG coherence in ferrets.

In recent years, the analysis of the coherence between signals recorded from the scalp [electroencephalographic (EEG) coherence] has been used to assess the functional properties of cortico-cortical connections, both in animal models and in humans. However, the experimental validation of this technique is still scarce. Therefore we applied it to the study of the callosal connections between the visual areas of the two hemispheres, because this particular set of cortico-cortical connections can be activated in a selective way by visual stimuli. Indeed, in primary and in low-order secondary visual areas, callosal axons interconnect selectively regions, which represent a narrow portion of the visual field straddling the vertical meridian and, within these regions, neurons that prefer the same stimulus orientation. Thus only isooriented stimuli located near the vertical meridian are expected to change interhemispheric coherence by activating callosal connections. Finally, if such changes are found and are indeed mediated by callosal connections, they should disappear after transection of the corpus callosum. We perfomed experiments on seven paralyzed and anesthetized ferrets, recording their cortical activity with epidural electrodes on areas 17/18, 19, and lateral suprasylvian, during different forms of visual stimulation. As expected, we found that bilateral iso-oriented stimuli near the vertical meridian, or extending across it, caused a significant increase in interhemispheric coherence in the EEG beta-gamma band. Stimuli with different orientations, stimuli located far from the vertical meridian, as well as unilateral stimuli failed to affect interhemispheric EEG coherence. The stimulus-induced increase in coherence disappeared after surgical transection of the corpus callosum. The results suggest that the activation of cortico-cortical connections can indeed be revealed as a change in EEG coherence. The latter can therefore be validly used to investigate the functionality of cortico-cortical connections.

Visual stimulus-dependent changes in interhemispheric EEG coherence in humans.

We analyzed the coherence of electroencephalographic (EEG) signals recorded symmetrically from the two hemispheres, while subjects (n = 9) were viewing visual stimuli. Considering the many common features of the callosal connectivity in mammals, we expected that, as in our animal studies, interhemispheric coherence (ICoh) would increase only with bilateral iso-oriented gratings located close to the vertical meridian of the visual field, or extending across it. Indeed, a single grating that extended across the vertical meridian significantly increased the EEG ICoh in normal adult subjects. These ICoh responses were obtained from occipital and parietal derivations and were restricted to the gamma frequency band. They were detectable with different EEG references and were robust across and within subjects. Other unilateral and bilateral stimuli, including identical gratings that were effective in anesthetized animals, did not affect ICoh in humans. This fact suggests the existence of regulatory influences, possibly of a top-down kind, on the pattern of callosal activation in conscious human subjects. In addition to establishing the validity of EEG coherence analysis for assaying cortico-cortical connectivity, this study extends to the human brain the finding that visual stimuli cause interhemispheric synchronization, particularly in frequencies of the gamma band. It also indicates that the synchronization is carried out by cortico-cortical connection and suggests similarities in the organization of visual callosal connections in animals and in man.

On nature and limits of cortical developmental plasticity after an early lesion, in a child.

MS is a little girl who suffered severe, bilateral destruction of her primary visual areas at six weeks, after premature birth at 30 weeks. Between the ages of 4.5 and 5.5 years she partially recovered different aspects of visual function, and, in particular, the ability to segregate figures from background, based on texture cues. The recovery might have been due to the compensatory role of the remaining visual areas that could have acquired response properties similar to those of the primary visual areas. This is not supported by the available FMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) responses to visual stimuli. Instead, abnormalities in the pattern of stimulus-induced changes of interhemi-spheric EEG-coherence in this patient suggest that her visual callosal connections, and possibly other cortico-cortical connections have re-organized abnormally. Since cortico-cortical connections, including the callosal ones appear to be involved in perceptual binding and figure-background segregation, their reorganization could be an important element in the functional recovery after early lesion, and/or in the residual perceptual impairment.

Interhemispheric interaction in children of 7-8: analysis of EEG coherence and finger tapping parameters.

To investigate interhemispheric interaction (IHI), the EEGs of 42 children between the ages of 7-8 years were recorded while they were performing, as fast as possible, both unimanual and bimanual rhythmic tapping tasks. As an EEG index of IHI we used coherence values (Coh) in the alpha band in the pairs of leads F3/F4, C3/C4, P3/P4, O1/O2, and T3/T4 during resting and tapping. The difference between left hand (L-L) and right hand (R-R) intertap intervals in comparable conditions was though to reflect IHI. Interhemispheric alpha Coh increase was only evident in bimanual rhythmic tasks, and was confined to the C3/C4 and P3/P4 regions. Coh in these brain areas correlated negatively with the time difference between the L-L and R-R intertap intervals. The results show that interhemispheric alpha Coh. can be regarded as an index of IHI during bimanual tapping, and support the clinical hypothesis that bimanual versus unimanual tapping might reflect interhemispheric or callosal function.