GuitarPD: A Randomized Pilot Study on the Impact of Nontraditional Guitar Instruction on Functional Movement and Well-Being in Parkinson's Disease.

Playing musical instruments may have positive effects on motor, emotional, and cognitive deficits in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). This pilot study examined the feasibility of a six-week nontraditional guitar instruction program for individuals with PD. Twenty-six participants with idiopathic PD (Age: 67.22 ± 8.07; 17 males) were randomly assigned to two groups (intervention first or 6 weeks of usual care control exposure) with stepwise exposure to the guitar intervention condition with cross-over at six weeks. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 weeks. Twenty-four participants completed the study. Combined analysis of the groups showed significant BDI-II improvement immediately after intervention completion (3.04 points, 95% CI [-5.2, -0.9], p = 0.04). PDQ-39 total quality of life scores improved from baseline to immediately postintervention 5.19 points (95% CI [-9.4, -1.0]) at trend significance (corrected p = 0.07). For Group 1 (exposed to the intervention first), MDS-UPDRS total scores improved by a mean of 8.04 points (95% CI [-12.4, -3.7], p = 0.004) and remained improved at 12 weeks by 10.37 points (95% CI [-14.7, -6.0], p < 0.001). This group also had significant improvements in mood and depression at weeks 6 and 12, remaining significant at week 18 (BDI-II: 3.75, 95% CI [-5.8, -1.7], p = 0.004; NeuroQoL-depression: 10.6, 95% CI [-4.9. -1.4], p = 0.004), and in anxiety at week 6 and week 18 (NeuroQoL; 4.42, 95% CI [-6.8, -2.1], p = 0.004; 3.58, 95% CI [-5.9, -1.2], p = 0.02, respectively). We found clinically and statistically significant improvements in mood/anxiety after 6 weeks of group guitar classes in individuals with PD. Group guitar classes can be a feasible intervention in PD and may improve mood, anxiety, and quality of life.

A dual DTI approach to analyzing white matter in children with dyslexia.

Using voxel-based (VBA) and region-of-interest (ROI) diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analyses, we examined white matter (WM) organization in seven children with dyslexia and six age-matched controls. Both methods demonstrated reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and abnormal orientation in the right SLF in dyslexics. Application of this complementary dual DTI approach to dyslexia, which included novel analyses of fiber orientation, demonstrates its usefulness for analyzing mild and complex WM abnormalities.

Frontal white matter reductions in healthy males with complex stereotypies.

The pathophysiologic mechanism for stereotypic, bilateral repetitive movements involving the arms and hands (complex motor stereotypies) is unknown. This study used volumetric magnetic resonance imaging to compare cerebral lobes and caudate nucleus in six males with complex stereotypies and average intelligence to age-matched control subjects. Results indicated volumetric reductions in frontal white matter, disproportionate to total cerebral white volume, and in the left and right caudate nuclei. These preliminary data suggest a possible dysfunction of cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical circuitry in children with nonautistic, physiologic motor stereotypies.

Cerebral growth in Fragile X syndrome: review and comparison with Down syndrome.

Neuroimaging studies have shown selective changes in brain size in Fragile X syndrome (FraX), which include reductions in the posterior cerebellar vermis, age-dependent increases in hippocampal volume, and enlarged caudate nucleus and thalamus. Contrasting with these limbic and subcortical anomalies, much less is known about the neocortex in FraX. The present study attempted to examine cerebral and lobar-level volumetric changes in young males with FraX (2-7 years), by comparing groups of subjects with full mutation (FM) and mosaicism (Mos) with both age-matched controls and subjects with developmental language delay (DLD) and Down syndrome (DS). For this purpose, we used high resolution (i.e, SPGR) MRI scans and semi-automated methods for segmenting (tissue class) and parcellating (i.e., Talairach) the brain. In agreement with previous studies, we found no changes in overall brain or cerebrum size in FraX. Nevertheless, boys with FM FraX had relative reductions in temporal lobe volume (primarily gray matter) and relative preservation/enlargement of parietal white matter volume. While temporal lobe reductions were not specific, since they were also observed in DLD and DS subjects, parietal preservation/enlargement was only seen in FraX. The relevance of these preliminary findings was emphasized by comparisons between FraX groups, which revealed more marked changes in FM FraX than in Mos FraX (i.e., gene dosage). While cross-sectional analyses revealed marked age-dependent decreases in DS, a group showing marked global and lobar volumetric reductions, there were no changes over time in FraX. These neuroimaging data are discussed in the context of FraX neurobiology and other developmental disorders.

Specificity of cerebellar vermian abnormalities in autism: a quantitative magnetic resonance imaging study.

To gain insight into the specificity of cerebellar vermian abnormalities reported in autism, we conducted a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of boys with either of two conditions associated with autism, Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome, compared with boys with idiopathic autism and controls. The subjects, ranging in age from 3 to 9 years, included 16 boys with Down syndrome + autism and 11 boys with Down syndrome only; 13 boys with fragile X syndrome + autism and 9 boys with fragile X syndrome only; 10 boys with idiopathic autism; and 22 controls. Diagnosis of autism was based on DSM-IV criteria, confirmed primarily by the Autism Diagnostic Interview. T1-weighted midsagittal MRIs were used to measure midline structures. Intracranial area, reflecting brain size, was significantly smaller in subjects with Down syndrome. Therefore, all vermian measures were expressed as ratios to intracranial area. Analysis of covariance (covarying for age and IQ) demonstrated that posterior vermi (lobules VI-VII and VIII-X) were markedly smaller in both Down syndrome groups and those with fragile X syndrome only, whereas only lobules VI-VII were reduced in idiopathic autism. Factorial analyses of variance tested interactions between autism factor and the diagnosis of Down syndrome or fragile X syndrome. The size of lobules VI-VII/intracranial area was dependent on autism status only in fragile X syndrome, with ratios significantly larger in fragile X syndrome with autism with respect to fragile X syndrome only. We conclude that selective posterior vermis hypoplasia is seen not only in idiopathic autism but also in Down syndrome and some individuals with fragile X syndrome. However, reductions in vermian lobules VI and VII appear to be specific to idiopathic autism, whereas increased size of lobules VI and VII is associated with autism in fragile X syndrome. The latter results are consistent with MRI studies showing lobules VI-VII hyperplasia in a subset of subjects with idiopathic autism and cerebral and hippocampal enlargements in fragile X syndrome.

Variations in EEG discharges predict ADHD severity within individual Smith-Lemli-Opitz patients.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to examine the prevalence of EEG abnormalities in Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) as well as the relationship between interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) and within-subject variations in attentional symptom severity. METHODS: In the context of a clinical trial for SLOS, we performed cross-sectional and repeated-measure observational studies of the relationship between EEG findings and cognitive/behavioral factors on 23 children (aged 4-17 years). EEGs were reviewed for clinical abnormalities, including IEDs, by readers blinded to participants' behavioral symptoms. Between-group differences in baseline characteristics of participants with and without IEDs were analyzed. Within-subject analyses examined the association between the presence of IEDs and changes in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. RESULTS: Of 85 EEGs, 43 (51%) were abnormal, predominantly because of IEDs. Only one subject had documented clinical seizures. IEDs clustered in 13 subjects (57%), whereas 9 subjects (39%) had EEGs consistently free of IEDs. While there were no significant group differences in sex, age, intellectual disability, language level, or baseline ADHD symptoms, autistic symptoms tended to be more prevalent in the "IED" group (according to Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 criteria). Within individuals, the presence of IEDs on a particular EEG predicted, on average, a 27% increase in ADHD symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS: Epileptiform discharges are common in SLOS, despite a relatively low prevalence of epilepsy. Fluctuations in the presence of epileptiform discharges within individual children with a developmental disability syndrome may be associated with fluctuations in ADHD symptomatology, even in the absence of clinical seizures.