The Cuban Human Brain Mapping Project, a young and middle age population-based EEG, MRI, and cognition dataset.

The Cuban Human Brain Mapping Project (CHBMP) repository is an open multimodal neuroimaging and cognitive dataset from 282 young and middle age healthy participants (31.9 ± 9.3 years, age range 18-68 years). This dataset was acquired from 2004 to 2008 as a subset of a larger stratified random sample of 2,019 participants from La Lisa municipality in La Habana, Cuba. The exclusion criteria included the presence of disease or brain dysfunctions. Participant data that is being shared comprises i) high-density (64-120 channels) resting-state electroencephalograms (EEG), ii) magnetic resonance images (MRI), iii) psychological tests (MMSE, WAIS-III, computerized go-no go reaction time), as well as iv,) demographic information (age, gender, education, ethnicity, handedness, and weight). The EEG data contains recordings with at least 30 minutes in duration including the following conditions: eyes closed, eyes open, hyperventilation, and subsequent recovery. The MRI consists of anatomical T1 as well as diffusion-weighted (DWI) images acquired on a 1.5 Tesla system. The dataset presented here is hosted by Synapse.org and available at https://chbmp-open.loris.ca .

Multimodal quantitative neuroimaging databases and methods: the Cuban Human Brain Mapping Project.

This article reviews the contributions of the Cuban Neuroscience Center to the evolution of the statistical parametric mapping (SPM) of quantitative Multimodal Neuroimages (qMN), from its inception to more recent work. Attention is limited to methods that compare individual qMN to normative databases (n/qMN). This evolution is described in three successive stages: (a) the development of one variant of normative topographical quantitative EEG (n/qEEG-top) which carries out statistical comparison of individual EEG spectral topographies with regard to a normative database--as part of the now popular SPM of brain descriptive parameters; (b) the development of n/qEEG tomography (n/qEEG-TOM), which employs brain electrical tomography (BET) to calculate voxelwise SPM maps of source spectral features with respect to a norm; (c) the development of a more general n/qMN by substituting EEG parameters with other neuroimaging descriptive parameters to obtain SPM maps. The study also describes the creation of Cuban normative databases, starting with the Cuban EEG database obtained in the early 90s, and more recently, the Cuban Human Brain Mapping Project (CHBMP). This project has created a 240 subject database of the normal Cuban population, obtained from a population-based random sample, comprising clinical, neuropsychological, EEG, MRI and SPECT data for the same subjects. Examples of clinical studies using qMN are given and, more importantly, receiver operator characteristics (ROC) analyses of the different developments document a sustained effort to assess the clinical usefulness of the techniques.

Surface area and cortical thickness descriptors reveal different attributes of the structural human brain networks.

Recently, a related morphometry-based connection concept has been introduced using local mean cortical thickness and volume to study the underlying complex architecture of the brain networks. In this article, the surface area is employed as a morphometric descriptor to study the concurrent changes between brain structures and to build binarized connectivity graphs. The statistical similarity in surface area between pair of regions was measured by computing the partial correlation coefficient across 186 normal subjects of the Cuban Human Brain Mapping Project. We demonstrated that connectivity matrices obtained follow a small-world behavior for two different parcellations of the brain gray matter. The properties of the connectivity matrices were compared to the matrices obtained using the mean cortical thickness for the same cortical parcellations. The topology of the cortical thickness and surface area networks were statistically different, demonstrating that both capture distinct properties of the interaction or different aspects of the same interaction (mechanical, anatomical, chemical, etc.) between brain structures. This finding could be explained by the fact that each descriptor is driven by distinct cellular mechanisms as result of a distinct genetic origin. To our knowledge, this is the first time that surface area is used to study the morphological connectivity of brain networks.

White matter architecture rather than cortical surface area correlates with the EEG alpha rhythm.

There are few studies on the neuroanatomical determinants of EEG spectral properties that would explain its substantial inter-individual variability in spite of decades of biophysical modeling that predicts this type of relationship. An exception is the negative relation between head size and the spectral position of the alpha peak (P(alpha)) reported in Nunez et al. (1978)-proposed as evidence of the influence of global boundary conditions on slightly damped neocortical waves. Here, we attempt to reexamine this finding by computing the correlations of occipital P(alpha) with various measures of head size and cortical surface area, for 222 subjects from the EEG/MRI database of the Cuban Human Brain Mapping Project. No relation is found (p>0.05). On the other hand, biophysical models also predict that white matter architecture, determining time delays and connectivities, could have an important influence on P(alpha). This led us to explore relations between P(alpha) and DTI fractional anisotropy by means of a multivariate penalized regression. Clusters of voxels with highly significant relations were found. These were positive within the Posterior and Superior Corona Radiata for both hemispheres, supporting biophysical theories predicting that the period of cortico-thalamocortical cycles might be modulating the alpha frequency. Posterior commissural fibers of the Corpus Callosum present the strongest relationships, negative in the inferior part (Splenium), connecting the inferior occipital lobes and positive in the superior part (Isthmus and Tapetum), connecting the superior occipital cortices. We found that white matter architecture rather than neocortical area determines the dynamics of the alpha rhythm.

Ventajas de la gammaglobulina endovenosa en el síndrome de Guillain-Barré en el niño / Advantages of intravenous gammaglobulin in Guillain-Barré´s syndrome in children

Veintidós niños con síndrome de Guillain-Barré (SGB) se examinaron y evaluaron posteriormente, en su evolución clínica acorde con el tratamiento. Predominó el sexo masculino (59,1 por ciento). La edad promedio fue de 7 años. Estos pacientes mostraron infección previa, y fueron las más frecuentes las infecciones respiratorias agudas. La proteinorraquia se observó en 21 pacientes (95,2 por ciento). Un grupo recibió esteroides (grupo A con 8 pacientes) y otro grupo, inmunoglobulina cubana endovenosa (grupo B con 14 enfermos). La mejoría clínica y la condición para la deambulación, conocida como la capacidad para caminar independientemente se evaluó en ambos grupos. Los pacientes del grupo A mostraron un promedio de mejoría de 17,3 días y un promedio máximo para obtener la condición ambulatoria de 57,1 días. Por otra parte, el grupo B inició la mejoría con un promedio de 8,3 días y el tiempo para la condición ambulatoria fue de 25,42 días. El análisis estadístico en el estudio fue altamente significativo (p=,0002)

Algunos aspectos a considerar en el paciente con convulsiones febriles / Some aspects to be taken into account in the patient suffering from febrile seizures

Se expone una revisión bibliográfica actualizada, sobre los conceptos de convulsión febril en el niño y el manejo de estos pacientes, utilizando un lenguaje apropiado para la comprensión del familiar, del médico general y del pediatra. Las recomendaciones finales, basadas en la experiencia clínica, constituyen una guía práctica para el manejo de pacientes son convulsiones febriles y convulsiones febriles complejas

Abordaje de la epilepsia en la infancia: parte I

El presente artículo cumple el objetivo de exponer algunas consideraciones que deben tener en cuenta los médicos de la familia, pediatras y neurólogos, en el manejo integral del niño con epilepsia. Insistimos en la importante información que aporta la anamnesis y la realización de un exhaustivo examen físico neurológico. Resaltamos el valor del examen del fondo de ojo y de la piel y sus anexos. Mostramos las ventajas, desventajas e indicaciones sobre el uso rutinario de biometría hemática, pruebas metabólicas en orina y examen del líquido cefalorraquídeo, en el diagnóstico de la epilepsia. Mencionamos los recientes avances de la cibernética aplicada a la neurología. Consideramos útil la valoración multidisciplinaria de estos niños