[Application of EEG coherence analysis for evaluation of the brain integrative activity in schizophrenia].

In this review we aim to systematize the evidence on changes in schizophrenic brain functional connectivity assessed with EEG coherence and phase synchrony analyses. Main findings on EEG coherence in schizophrenic patients at rest and during different activation tasks are described. The studies point to specific patterns of cortical connectivity in schizophrenia, specifically, to the disturbance of certain paths of integration related to symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. These data are in line with the disconnection hypothesis of the disorder.

[Pathogenetic aspects of early stages of hypertension and possibilities of non-drug treatment]. / Patogeneticheskie osobennosti nachal'nykh stadii gipertonicheskoi bolezni i vozmozhnosti nelekarstvennoi terapii.

A comprehensive study of young patients with early hypertensive disease (HD) has revealed their constitutional personality traits which result at long-term traumatization (in addition to exogenous stresses, there is an intrapersonal conflict) in the autonomic nervous disintegration syndrome, lowered parasympathetic effects in the presence of hypersympathicotonia. There is markedly impaired secretion in the dopaminergic link of the sympathoadrenal system along with a steady-state increase in norepinephrine:dopamine ratio, which may be regarded as a possible marker (a risk factor) of HD progression. The decreased secretion of the antistressors dopamine and beta-endorphin can also make a contribution to the progression of HD and its evolution.

[Systems analysis of colour music corrective effect]. / Sistemnyi analiz korrigiruiushchego deistviia tsvetomuzyki.

In the context of P. K. Anokhin's theory of functional systems, the corrective effects of various combinations of medical therapeutical resonance music (MTRM) and dynamic colour exposure were analyzed. As compared to rehabilitative music programmes, MRTM was shown to have a more pronounced relaxing effect as manifested both in the optimization of emotion and in the activity of autonomic regulation of cardiovascular functions. On combined MRTM and dynamic colour flow exposures, the relaxing effect is most marked. In the examinees, the personality and situation anxieties diminish, mood improves, cardiovascular parameters become normal, the rate of metabolic processes and muscular rigidity reduce, the spectral power of alpha-rhythm increases, these occurring predominantly in the anterior region of the brain. The findings suggest the high efficiency of the chosen way of normalizing the functional status of man.

[Comparative analysis of memory pathologies of various genesis: epileptic patients and Chernobyl nuclear plant accident liquidators]. / Sravnitel'nyi analiz patologii pamiati raznogo geneza na primere liudei, bol'nykh épilepsiei, i likvidatorov avarii na ChAES.

Different types of short-term memory were examined in two groups of people: epileptic patients during remission and participants of cleaning after the incident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The control group matched the experimental groups by sex, age, and education. It was found that memory dysfunctions were similar independently of the kind of pathology. The associative memory was most vulnerable. This finding is explained in terms of the role of protein-nucleic synthesis (the molecular-universal aspect) in the formation of human and animal associative memory.

[Electromyographic analysis of movement disorders in epilepsy]. / Elektromiograficheskii analiz dvigatel'nykh narushenii pri épilepsii.

The authors studied EMG features in epileptic patients during conditions of an exacerbation of the disease and in remissions. A wide spectrum of motor disorders was detected during the intraparoxysmal period in the stage of an exacerbation of the disease: along with changes of the tonic muscle activity in calm conditions there is a disturbance of the tonic reaction in preparing voluntary movement. The accomplishment and completion of the motor function is also altered. Changes in the relationships of muscles antogonists in an isometric tension depends upon the lateralization of the epileptical focus. In left-side foci there is an asymmetry of the EMG with expressed changes of its parameters on the contralateral right hand, while the right side foci led to symmetrical disturbances of the EMG on both sides, but less expressed. In patients with therapeutical remissions ther are no constant changes of the EMG, although according to the EEG the focus of convulsive activity remains.

[Interhemispheric correlations of electric activity of the brain in late depression]. / Mezhpolusharnye sootnosheniia élektricheskoi aktivnosti mozga pri pozdnikh depressiiakh.

A chronometric EEG analysis was made in 60 patients aged 50 to 86 years with affective psychosis in different stages of the depressive phase. It has been demonstrated that the development of depressive conditions gives rise not only to changes in the frequency and amplitude characteristics of the EEG but also in the ratios of interhemispheric asymmetry of the parameters of brain electric activity, attesting to a higher tone of the right hemisphere. This interhemispheric asymmetry was determined to a considerable measure by the presence in the reference EEG of generalized discharges of slow-wave activity. The use of the dipolar analysis of the EEG permitted detecting foci of maximum generation of discharges in the left temporal area and brain stem structures. These areas of generation were preserved after removing the depressive symptomatology with antidepressants. It is suggested that the superstem generators of discharges exert a more appreciable effect on right hemisphere function, which is specified by cortico-diencephalic relations.

[Cranial electrostimulation--a new nondrug method of treating the initial stage of hypertension]. / Kranial'naia élektrostimuliatsiia--novyi nelekarstvennyi metod lecheniia nachal'noi stadii gipertonicheskoi bolezni.

The authors relate the data on the hypotensive effect and procedure of cranial electric stimulation (CES). The method was applied to the treatment of 66 patients aged 20-40 years suffering from stage I essential hypertension (EH) (WHO classification). To provide clinical and physiological evidence for CES, the EEG and ECG were recorded. In addition, computer was employed to average out and to design the histograms of the R-R intervals as was echocardiography to examine central hemodynamics. Before the treatment of SAP (179.2 +/- 4.3 mm Hg), DAP (104.2 +/- 2.6 mm Hg) the patients manifested cephalgia, cardialgia, pronounced vegetative dysfunction. The EEG showed phenomena of irritation in the upper stem structures of the brain. The histograms of R-R intervals distribution demonstrated the signs of a decrease of the tonic influence of the parasympathetic nervous system. The hyperkinetic type of hemodynamics was revealed. After CES the patients manifested an improvement of subjective symptomatology: headache attacks ceased in 85% of the patients, heart pains in 76%; AP got stabilized within normal, which correlated with normalization of central hemodynamics. The histograms of R-R intervals distribution demonstrated an increase of the model value, a decline of the mode, and a rise of the variation range, attesting to the changes in vegetative regulation of heart activity, with a reduction of sympathetic regulation and a simultaneous increment of parasympathetic effects. The authors hold that CES is an effective and prospective method of the treatment of the initial stage of EH.

[Thresholds of pain responses to electric stimuli in patients with endogenous depressions]. / Porogi bolevykh reaktsii na élektricheskie stimuly u bol'nykh éndogennymi depressiiami.

The thresholds of pain and non-pain responses to single electric pulses whose duration was 0.1, 1, 10, 100, and 1000 msec were comparatively analysed in healthy individuals and patients suffering from endogenous affective disorders with bi- and monopolar courses during the development of a depressive phase and after its arrest. An analysis of the mean and modal values of non-pain response thresholds revealed no significant differences in patients and healthy individuals during marked depressive disorders and only after antidepressive therapy there was a tendency to increase non-pain response thresholds. During the development of depression, the thresholds of pain responses to short test signals (0.1 and 1 msec) were significantly lower in patients than in healthy subjects. After cessation of the depressive sympathology there was an increase in pain response thresholds and their approach to those in the healthy examinees, but in the intermission there was a profound rise in pain response thresholds in patients with a bipolar course.

[Depressive disorders in patients in remission of epilepsy].

Based on the complex study of 150 patients with different forms of epilepsy in the remission phase, we singled out a group of 68 (45.3%) patients with depressive disorders. Variants of depressive disorders and their EEG-characteristics were described. Depressive disorders were stratified by the causes, course and response to pharmacotherapy into following variants: depressive disorders caused by the epileptic process per se; organic depressive disorder and disorder of adaptation with depression and anxiety-depressive disorders. Functional neuroimaging methods suggest the involvement of both the limbic system and cortical structures, with the elevated activity of the left hemisphere, in the development of depression.

[Diurnal changes of alpha-rhythm in endogenous depressions].

The aim of the study was to find the diurnal changes in the EEG alpha-activity in patients with endogenous depressions. Both morning and evening EEG records were characterized by the transition of modal value of leading rhythm into the lower frequency band (9-10 Hz versus 10-11 Hz in healthy people). The spectral power of alpha-rhythm was higher, especially in the occipital cortical areas, in the morning hours than in the evening. In the morning, the intrahemispheric differences in the alpha-rhythm power in occipital areas were leveled out while in the evening hours, the normalization of intrahemispheric balance with higher power of alpha-rhythm in the right occipital area was seen. A comparative analysis of mean values of coherence (COH) in cortical areas in patients revealed higher COH values in parietal-central areas of both hemispheres, as well as in frontal- and right middle temporal areas, in the morning compared to those in the evening. COH values were lower in the morning than in the evening in occipital and posterior temporal areas. The mean COH value of alpha-rhythm in the right hemisphere was higher compared to the left hemisphere both in the morning and in the evening.

[Pantogam in the treatment of patients with organic brain lesions of different genesis].

We studied 35 patients with organic brain lesions caused by secondary brain harmful factors (group 1) and 33 patients with organic brain diseases of vascular genesis (group 2). Mean age of patients was 45.5±2.3 years. Asthenic, cerebroasthenic, psychoorganic syndromes in the combination with dissomnic, psychoautonomous, depressive, hypochondriac disorders predominated in the clinical picture of patients. Pantoham was prescribed in dose 1.0 g 3 times daily during 45 days. The effect of the drug on cognitive and mental disorders was found. The drug was most effective in patients of group 1. Pantoham was well-tolerated.

[Changes of EEG coherence in different stages of the formation of the psychoorganic syndrome].

The group of liquidators of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident (n=170) with nonpsychotic mental disorders of exogenic-organic origin was studied. Patients were stratified into five groups on the basis of dominating symptoms in different stages of disorders: group 1 included patients with the prevalence of asthenic symptoms (n=104); group 2 - with the prevalence of autonomous disorders (n=37); group 3 - with the marked neurotic-like symptom complex (n=10); group 4 - with depressive symptoms (n=10); group 5 - with disturbances of cognitive function. The control group included 150 healthy people. Recording and mapping of coherence (COH) of the brain electrical activity was conducted using the apparatus-software complex for topographic mapping of brain electrical activity NEURO-CM (Russia) with the bandwidth from 0 to 40 Hz and the time constant of 0.3 sec. The EEG record was carried out monopolar from symmetrical cortical zones (10-20% scheme). Changes of COH were characterized by staging in patients compared to the controls. In the initial stage of disease, the integrative links were decreased in the temporal cortical zones of the left hemisphere. The reduction of functional activity in temporal-central cortical zones was found that might be the consequence of mesodiencephalic dysfunction. In the later stages, temporal zones of the right hemisphere were mostly affected. The parallel reinforcement of functional activity of occipital zones, in particular, the increase of 'long links' with frontal areas, was noted in the overall formation of the psychoorganic syndrome. This phenomenon may be considered as a compensatory mechanism when the phylogenetically older cortical zones, which are more resistant to pathological changes, become leaders in the realization of integrative brain activity during the development of a pathological state.

[Clinical-neurophysiological aspects of suicidal behavior].

Eighty-two patients with depression with suicidal tendencies, 82 patients without these tendencies and 150 healthy people have been studied. An attempt has been made to reveal a correlation of results obtained in calculating the entropy and information saturation of EEG with signs of dysontogenesis in patients with depression with- or without suicidal signs. In patients with depressive symptoms and feelings of despair, the ability to process information in the prefrontal cortex went down; at the same time, a portion of information saturation of occipital regions significantly increased. In depressive patients with suicidal ideation, there was a statistically significant <> of the brain with excessive amount of information. A total elevation of information processing activity in all cortical areas, especially in frontal and medial temporal areas and right occipital regions as well, to emotionally neutral stimulus was noticed in patients without suicidal signs. An increase of information saturation in frontal and medial temporal cortex areas, especially in the left side, to emotionally positive stimulation was shown. The similar but less marked changes were found for negative stimulus. The decrease of prefrontal cortical activity observed in this group did not reach the level of significance and was noticed, in contrast to healthy people, for both positive and negative (more significantly) stimulation. The study of suicide attempters revealed the same results, with more significant decreasing of information saturation to emotionally neutral stimulus in frontal cortical areas as compared to the positive and negative stimulation. The significant difference was found for the right frontal temporal cortical area. An analysis of EEG changes in view of dysontogenetic factors suggests that these factors lead to the dysfunction of mesodiencephal structures due to mechanisms of plasticity. The irritation of these structures lead to disturbances in information processing that might cause clinical and psychological changes resulted in the suicide.

[Autonomic regulation of the cardiovascular system in patients with schizoaffective psychosis]. / Vegetativnaia reguliatsiia serderchno-sosudistoi sistemy u bol'nykh shizoaffektivnym psikhozom.

A comparative analysis of R-R intervals distribution parameters in ECG histograms (modal value, moda amplitude, variation range) in 60 healthy individuals as well as in 35 patients with schizoaffective disorders (ICD-10: F 25.1) was performed. These ECG parameters reflected sympathic and parasympathic influences of vegetative nervous system on the cardiac rhythm. Histograms of RR-intervals distribution parameters had been significantly changed in patients during schizoaffective symptoms development as compared to control group: modal value was shifted toward short interval area, moda amplitude was rised, variation range was narrowed. It means the increasing sympathic influence and decreasing parasympathic nervous system activity. The alternation trend was the same in patients with the prevalence of affective symptoms (affectdominant form of schizoaffective psychosis) or with paranoid predominance (schizodominant form of schizoaffective psychosis). The intensity of these changes was more expressed in patients with affectdominant form of schizoaffective psychosis.