Variability of the EEG autocorrelation structure in adolescents with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Quantitative analysis of changes in the autocorrelation structure of EEG short segments (in the range of several seconds) was performed in healthy adolescents (n = 39) and adolescents with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (n = 39). The variability of the EEG autocorrelation structure was shown to be higher in patients with the greatest trend in the frontal leads. It is suggested that psychopathology of the schizophrenia spectrum is accompanied by a break in the mutual determination of cortical neural networks with predominant localization of this process in the frontal areas of the brain cortex.     

Measuring the dissimilarity between EEG recordings through a non-linear dynamical system approach

A new measure of dissimilarity between two EEG segments is proposed. It is derived from the application of the mathematical concept of distance between series of one-step predictions according to the estimated non-linear autoregressive functions. The non-linear autoregressive estimation is performed by non-parametric regression using kernel estimators. The possibility of applying this measure for automatic classification of EEG segments is explored. For this purpose multidimensional scaling and cluster analyses are applied on the basis of the calculated dissimilarity measures. In particular, its application to different EEG segments with delta activity and also with alpha waves reveals high agreement with visual classification by EEG specialists.     

Segmentation of EEG during sleep using time-varying autoregressive modeling

Time-varying AR modeling is applied to sleep EEG signal, in order to perform parameter estimation and detect changes in the signal characteristics (segmentation). Several types of basis functions have been analyzed to determine how closely they can approximate parameter changes characteristics of the EEG signal. The TV-AR model was applied to a large number of simulated signal segments, in order to examine the behaviour of the estimation under various conditions such as variations in the EEG parameters and in the location of segment boundaries, and different orders of the basis functions. The set of functions that is the basis for the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), and the Walsh functions were found to be the most efficient in the estimation of the model parameters. A segmentation algorithm based on an “Identification function” calculated from the estimated model parameters is suggested.     

The role of opioid system in the regulation of the sleep-wakefulness cycle

In chronic experiments influence of single administration of various doses of morphine (0.5, 2.0 and 3.0 mg/kg) on general behavior, structural organization of the sleep-waking cycle and some EEG and somato-vegetative parameters was studied in the cats. Intraperitoneal administration of morphine elicits numerous autonomic disorders, psychic derangement and complete deterioration of the sleep-waking cycle structure. The result certify that single administration of morphine induces activation of the opiate receptors in various structures of the brain, which entails deviations of behavioral and EEG parameters, activation of the structures responsible for initiation of behavioral waking, suppression of activity in those structure, which control the slow wave sleep triggering mechanisms, deterioration of the sleep quality and significant elevation of emotional tension against the baseline. On the basis of obtained data it is suggested that the opioid system plays an important role in the sleep-waking cycle regulatory mechanisms and other forms of brain integrative activity in general.     

Spatial autocorrelation of allozyme and quantitative markers within a natural population of Centaurea jacea (Asteraceae)

This paper compares the fine‐scale genetic structure of quantitative traits and allozyme markers within a natural population of Centaurea jacea s.l. To that end, a spatial autocorrelation approach is developed based on pairwise correlation coefficients between individuals and using sib families. Statistical properties of the proposed statistics are investigated with numerical simulations. Our results show that most quantitative traits have a significant spatial structure for their genetic component. On average, allozyme markers and the genetic component of quantitative traits have similar patterns of spatial autocorrelation that are consistent with a neutral model of isolation by distance. We also show evidence that environmental heterogeneity generates a spatial structure for the environmental component of quantitative traits. Results are discussed in terms of mechanisms generating spatial structure and are compared with those obtained on a large geographical scale.     

The spatial organization of the cortical potentials in exposure to different forms of photic stimuli]

Reactive changes of spatial-temporal organization of cerebral cortex potentials of rabbits under the action of light stimuli of various shapes (circle, square, triangle, cross and weaker diffusive light presented prior to and after the application of structural stimuli) were studied on the basis of multi-channel EEG recording data (24 leads). The data were evaluated of spectral-correlative analysis of the electrical activity and the results of comparison of successive momentary topograms of cortical potentials (EEG) on two-second segments prior to and during the action of the applied light stimulus. The obtained results showed that localization of interconnected changes of the cortical potentials were more sensitive to the perception of the form of light stimuli than the change of frequency characteristics of the EEG rhythms.     

The reflection of different levels of the regulation of human brain activity in spectrally coherent EEG parameters]

On the basis of clinico-anatomo-electroencephalographic studies it was shown, that in early terms of cerebral trauma, at gross disturbances of the cortical functions and safety in some cases of only vital regulation, the parameters of the EEG stability or variability are of distinct information value for estimation of the functional state of patients. It was established, that changes of stability of the frequency, power, and coherent EEG characteristics correlate with different parameters of changes of the structural-functional brain organization. At this stage the greatest connection with the disease outcome reveals the EEG coherence parameters of the cortical symmetrical points reflecting the state of predominantly median formations and general brain reactions to traumatic action. In the process of restoration of disturbed neuromental functions priority prognostic significance is acquired by parameters of intrahemispheric coherence as well as by frequency-regional properties of interhemispheric asymmetry of coherence of the brain electrical processes, characterizing functional features of the lesion focus.     

Structure of the actuator domain from the Archaeoglobus fulgidus Cu(+)-ATPase

Copper homeostasis is maintained in part by membrane-bound P(1B)-type ATPases that are found in all organisms and drive the transport of this essential, yet toxic, metal ion across cellular membranes. CopA from Archaeoglobus fulgidus is a hyperthermophilic member of this ATPase subfamily and is homologous to the human Wilson and Menkes disease ATPases. To gain insight into Cu(+)-ATPase function, the structure of the CopA actuator domain (A-domain) was determined to 1.65 A resolution. The CopA A-domain functions to couple ATP hydrolysis in the ATP binding domain (ATPBD) with structural rearrangements of critical transmembrane segments. Its fold is quite similar to that of the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA1) A-domain, with the exception of an external loop region. On the basis of sequence and structural comparisons, specific residues that probably interact with the CopA ATPBD have been identified. Comparisons to the Wilson and Menkes disease A-domains reveal the presence of an additional loop that may be associated with regulatory functions in eukaryotic Cu(+)-ATPases. Finally, several mutations in the Wilson and Menkes disease ATPases occur in the A-domain, and their likely effects on function can be inferred from the CopA A-domain structure.     

EEG--indicator of impairment and recovery of the dendrite structure in the plexiform layer of the cerebral cortex

The connection between EEG spectrum and structural changes of plexiform layer apical dendrites was revealed during the period of recovery from the deep anesthesia. On the initial phase of recovery when the multiply varicose dendritic enlargements are present, an additional peak in EEG spectrum emerged in a delta-band under weak DC action (10 microA); on the late phase of recovery when the structure of the plexiform layer apical dendrites became normal the peak in EEG spectrum under weak DC action emerged in a tetha-band. Thus, by the absence or appearance of the tetha-rhythm in the cerebral cortex in the response to it direct stimulation we can evaluate the morphological condition of the Plexiform layer apical dendrites.     

Identification of EEG patterns occurring in anesthesia by means of autoregressive parameters.

In EEG analysis an automatic pattern recognition is of interest. In this paper the usefulness of autoregressive parameters to classify EEG segments recorded during anesthesia is examined. Assuming that the AR parameters are multivariate normally distributed, parametric methods of discriminant analysis can be applied. The results show that AR parameters have high discriminating power and that the lowest error classification rate (smaller than 3%) is obtained by using quadratic discriminant functions. Consequently autoregressive parameters are efficient for classifying EEG segments into general stages of anesthesia.     

Association between individual EEG characteristics and the level of intelligence

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between individual electroencephalogram (EEG) characteristics in the resting state and the level of nonverbal intelligence. The study involved 77 students of Demidov Yaroslavl State University. Analysis of the relationship between IQ and spectral parameters of EEG theta, alpha, and two subbands of beta oscillations revealed that the amplitude and power of alphaband EEG oscillations and low frequency beta-band EEG oscillations were positively correlated with the performance in the nonverbal intelligence test. The variety of brain periodic regimes was assessed using the correlation dimension (CD) of EEG. The correlation dimension can be used to quantify the degree of complexity of the nonlinear dynamical system. It was found that the value of the EEG correlation dimension was positively associated with the level of intelligence. The periodicity of the EEG signal was studied using autocorrelation analysis. It was shown that the autocorrelogram duration was negatively associated with IQ and the autocorrelogram amplitude was positively associated with IQ. A regression equation for predicting the level of nonverbal intelligence based on the power of theta- and beta-band oscillations, alpha-band oscillation indexes, and the amplitude and autocorrelation characteristics of the EEG signal was obtained.     

Prediction of the secondary structure of myosin light chains from comparison of homologous sequences. Implications for the interaction between myosin heavy and light chains

The primary sequences of seventeen essential and seventeen regulatory myosin light chains were analyzed and compared, using algorithms based on the different structural properties of their amino acid residues. This process allowed estimation of the structural homology between the proteins studied, and improved the prediction of their mean secondary structure and functionally important segments or residues. On the basis of the crystal structure of troponin C, a model of the myosin essential light chain with a fairly compact form is proposed. The possible sites of interaction between myosin light and heavy chains from rabbit skeletal muscle were also investigated by a complementarity method adapted to helix-rich proteins. Segments 139-149 and 65-75 in the essential light chain and segments 27-37, 67-77 and 97-107 in the regulatory light chain are suggested to constitute some of these sites, as most of them were found to have the features of surface-seeking helices.     

The use of a multi-channel kalman filter algorithm in structural analysis of the epileptic EEG

An extension of the Kalman filter algorithm to the multi-channel case is presented and its application as a segmenting procedure in the analysis of the epileptic EEG is discussed. An analytical example of structural analysis, using the segments extracted by the proposed filter, is presented for a particular set of 4-channel EEG recordings. This analysis is shown to be especially fruitful if the autoregressive coefficients - a by product of the filtering procedure - are used to estimate the information flow between the channels by the calculation of partial as well as directed coherences for the representative segments.     

Developmental features of the formation of the brain’s bioelectrical activity in children with remote consequences of a perinatal lesion of the CNS: II. EEG typology in health and mental disorders

The results of studies on the developmental EEG dynamics in children with long-term effects of perinatal CNS pathology are presented. The most common EEG types have been identified, and the differences in their distribution in normal and abnormal mental development were shown. On the basis of the results of a longitudinal study, early markers of the risk of ontogenetic deviations have been described that allow the consequences of perinatal CNS lesion to be minimized and abnormal variants of the formation of higher mental functions to be prevented.     

Structural modeling of dual-affinity purified Pho84 phosphate transporter

The phosphate transporter Pho84 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is predicted to contain 12 transmembrane (TM) regions, divided into two partially duplicated parts of 6 TM segments. The three-dimensional (3D) organization of the Pho84 protein has not yet been determined. However, the 3D crystal structure of the Escherichia coli MFS glycerol-3-phosphate/phosphate antiporter, GlpT, and lactose transporter, LacY, has recently been determined. On the basis of extensive prediction and fold recognition analyses (at the MetaServer), GlpT was proposed as the best structural template on which the arrangement of TM segments of the Pho84 transporter was fit, using the comparative structural modeling program MODELLER. To initiate an evaluation of the appropriateness of the Pho84 model, we have performed two direct tests by targeting spin labels to putative TM segments 8 and 12. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy was then applied on purified and spin labeled Pho84. The line shape from labels located at both positions is consistent with the structural environment predicted by the template-generated model, thus supporting the model.     

Reduction of the number of recorded EEG channels for routine monitoring in the intensive care unit]

Monitoring patients in the intensive care unit with the aid of the conventional electroencephalogram employing a large number of recording channels is rather difficult, and can be laborious. This imposes limits on the routine application of this method. To investigate the possibility of developing a new monitoring device for easier application in the ICU, we aimed to establish whether the relevant information provided by a multi-channel EEG could be found in a subgroup of channels, thus reducing the number of channels required. Preferably those channels should be identified for use which are least contaminated by artefacts under routine conditions in the ICU. A total of 150 EEG recordings from the intensive care unit were inspected visually for the presence of artefacts. The derivations C3-P3 and C4-P4 proved to be least contaminated, at 35% and 39%, respectively. In these derivations visual assessment of the EEG was found to be impossible due to artefacts in only 4 and 5%, of all cases, respectively. A data set comprising 52 EEG segments with the fewest possible artefacts, was analysed using time series methods. On the basis of multivariate autoregressive processes, a measure was derived which describes the loss of information associated with a reduction in the number of EEG channels. The computation of the information loss for several channel combinations revealed that the derivations F3-C3, C3-P3 and A1-Cz represent a good compromise between information content, number of channels and frequency of artefacts. Practical experience shows that, at least for the control of sedation, a further reduction to a single channel should be possible.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Individual-typologic features of EEG structure

EEG monopolarly recorded in points F3, F4, O1, O2 of 20 healthy subjects in six states (quiet wakefulness with open or closed eyes, spontaneous button pressings in arbitrary moments of time, listening to clicks, reaction to clicks by pressing the button at random or at equal intervals between stimuli), were processed by means of the computer program transforming the raw EEG tracings to a sequence of stationary segments. The accumulated segments were divided into classes of "similar" ones by a two-stage procedure of cluster analysis. In each lead six types of segments were identified forming populations of structural units of an individual human EEG. Four types were recorded all over the brain: their spectra were of a great resemblance in different brain areas. The EEG of each individual was characterized by a certain combination of segment types which practically did not change by their quality in different states of the subject.     

萜类驱避化合物与引诱物三分子缔合的计算研究

【目的】目前驱避剂的作用机理研究还不理想,本研究从单个萜类驱避化合物分子与不同种类引诱气味分子同时相互缔合的角度入手,通过理论计算探究该缔合与蚊虫驱避作用的关系,从而为驱避作用机理研究提供新认识。【方法】利用Gaussian View 4.1和Gaussian 03W软件构建和优化萜类驱避化合物单体、单体与引诱物L-乳酸及氨分子同时缔合后三分子缔合体的结构,获得其最低能量结构和缔合能;通过程序Ampac 8.16将前述结构导入到程序Codessa 2.7.10,计算各类结构描述符;再利用Codessa 2.7.10的启发式方法得到一系列缔合体结构描述符与驱避活性之间的定量关系模型,并通过转折点确定、模型验证后确定最佳定量关系计算模型。【结果】三分子缔合的缔合能基本上在20~50 kJ/mol的范围,所得最佳三参数定量计算模型的R²值为0.9098,包含的3个结构描述符分别是三分子缔合体的maximum nucleophilic reactivity index for a C atom,topographic electronic index (all bonds) ［Zefirov’s PC］和exchange energy + e-e repulsion for a H-O bond。【结论】萜类驱避化合物分子可同时与2个不同种类的引诱物分子发生缔合作用,该缔合作用符合氢键的能量基本特征;缔合体的碳原子最大原子核反应指数、所有键的拓扑电子指数、氢氧键电子间交换互斥能对驱避活性影响显著。这些结果初步说明萜类驱避化合物与引诱物三分子缔合作用确实存在,且该缔合作用对驱避活性具有显著影响,这为驱避机理的研究提供了新的理论依据。     

A comparison of the spatial connections of superslow phasic electrical processes recorded from the surface of the head in healthy subjects to the spatial connections of a simultaneously recorded EEG

The EEG and infraslow phasic electrical processes in the band of 0.05-0.5 Hz (ISPP) were simultaneously recorded in 16 derivations (10-20 System without Fz, Cz, and Pz) in 35 women volunteers in the state of quiet wakefulness with closed eyes. Artifacts and non-stationary segments with a sharp amplitude increase were eliminated from the records in preprocessing editing. Spatial correlations were evaluated using maxima of crosscorrelation functions and coherence functions averaged over the whole spectrum. Correlations for both kind of processes appeared to be rather similar, in particular, they were both characterized by the low values if interhemispheric covariations in the temporal areas. The ISSP correlations were significantly lower for the least distance between derivations and had lower spatial gradient than the EEG correlations. There were also some topical differences between the processes. The obtained evidence support the idea of the ISPP as direct manifestations of cortical electrical activity, however, rather specific in relation with the routine EEG correlations.