by Aleksandra Oledzka  and Lynne Ann Barker

Received: 05 March 2019;  Published: 06 May 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2102093

Brain training apps are becoming increasingly popular for at home use and as an adjunct to more traditional therapies. There is uncertainty about whether the effects of brain training transfer to real-world cognition, or performance on other cognitive assessment tests, or is specific only to the brain training app. Executive functions (EF’s) are higher-order cognitive processes important for activities of everyday living and autonomous goal-directed behaviour [1]. EF’s are associated with frontal brain networks tha [...]

by Niamh Flynn

Received: 18 March 2021;  Published: 02 May 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2102092

Although studies to understand the pathogenesis of migraines are in progress, no theory has adequately explained the etiology and pathophysiology of migraines to date. This has affected the development of treatment strategies for migraineurs. Currently, the pharmacological treatment for migraines provides both acute and prophylactic options to patients based on a biomedical model of pain. However, patients’ adherence to oral migraine preventive medication (OMPM) is poor, and their persistence is even lower when the [...]

by Joshua C. Brown  and Jessica L. Broadway

Received: 01 December 2020;  Published: 20 April 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2102091

Lamotrigine is generally accepted as a well-tolerated medication with few cognitive side effects. Here, we report a case of a 62-year old female with a severe, rapidly progressive dementia-like process which was completely reversed after reduction of lamotrigine. Associated findings included hyperreflexia with clonus, ataxia, Wernicke-like aphasia, global cognitive impairment, burst suppression on electroencephalogram (EEG), and bilateral parietal hypo-metabolism on fluorodeoxyglucose-Positron Emission Tomography [...]

by Lina Nguyen  , Gabrielle Romena  , Ethan Nguyen  , Cassandra Tran  , Kaitlyn Nguyen  , Ananya Devarajan  and Henry Hirschberg

Received: 15 December 2020;  Published: 23 March 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2101090

Following post-operative treatment, the vast majority of GBMs recur, usually within 2 cm of the tumor resection margin. Since these tumors seldom metastasize outside the CNS, improved localized therapies should prove beneficial. Drug delivery systems (DDS) that allow control over drug release by an externally applied energy, such as light, have the potential of improving the results of chemotherapy. Light-activated hydrogel DDS, implanted in the operative cavity formed by tumor resection, bypasses the blood brain b [...]

by Edwin Meresh  , Clinton Korneffel  , Bavani Rajah  and Ryan Bergren

Received: 23 December 2020;  Published: 23 March 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2101089

Catatonia can occur in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and malignant catatonia is life threatening. Anti-psychotic medications should be discontinued during acute phase of catatonia. Anti-psychotic discontinuation in catatonia is a challenge in patients maintained on long-acting injectable antipsychotics because of the extended release. Case report: We present a case of malignant catatonia developed in a patient with history of schizophrenia and developmental delay. Symptoms lasted severa [...]

by Dorit Shoval  , Nama Tal  and Orna Tzischinsky

Received: 21 July 2020;  Published: 08 March 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2101088

The present study was aimed to examine the relationship of sleep–smartphone hygiene, i.e., the habits of smartphone usage in the sleep environment, with the sleep quality among students and whether this relationship could be explained through psychological factors. A total of 467 Israeli college students were investigated using five questionnaires, namely, Sleep–Smartphone Hygiene Questionnaire (SSHQ), Fear of Missing Out Scale (FoMOs), Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and a [...]

by Maurizio Gabrielli  , Veronica Ojetti  , Marcello Candelli  , Luca Santarelli  , Antonio Gasbarrini  and Francesco Franceschi

Received: 18 August 2020;  Published: 09 February 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2101087

Celiac disease (CD) is a common gluten-related enteropathy that presents several extra-intestinal manifestations. Migraine is globally recognized as one of the most diffuse primary headaches. The present paper aims to review the current evidence on the possible association between CD and migraine. Both adults and children having CD exhibit a high prevalence of migraine. However, screening for CD in an unselected population of migraineurs demonstrated contrasting results. Brain imaging may reveal cerebral calcificat [...]

by Collin J. Anderson  , Amanda C. Guidon  , Farrah B. Khan  , Alissa A. Thomas  , Carolyne Riehle  , Michael Hehir  and Noah Kolb

Received: 28 October 2020;  Published: 31 January 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2101086

Lambert Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) is a rare autoimmune neuromuscular junction disorder involving loss of functional pre-synaptic P/Q-type voltage-gated calcium channels. Many cases occur as a paraneoplastic disorder, often in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Recently, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have emerged as treatment of choice for various malignancies. While generally well tolerated, certain ICI-treated patients experience neurologic immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Here, we explore therapeuti [...]

by Joep P.M. Geraedts

Received: 15 December 2020;  Published: 28 January 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2101085

Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant disease that immensely impacts the affected families. However, the transmission of the disease from carriers to their offspring could be prevented. Prenatal diagnosis (PND) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) are the only two available reproductive options for the carriers at risk to have disease-free children. PND for HD could be done through two kinds of genetic testing: direct and indirect. The same approaches are available for preimplantation genetic te [...]

by Dmitriy Melkonian

Received: 17 July 2020;  Published: 27 January 2021;  doi: 10.21926/obm.neurobiol.2101084

The probabilistic formalism of quantum mechanics is used to quantitatively link the electroencephalogram (EEG) with the underlying microscale activity of cortical neurons. Previous approaches applied methods of classic physics to reconstruct the EEG in terms of explicit physical models of cortical neurons and the volume conductor. However, the multiplicity of cellular processes with extremely intricate mixtures of deterministic and random factors prevented the creation of consistent biophysical parameter sets. To a [...]