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Cota VR, Cançado SAV, Moraes MFD. On temporal scale-free non-periodic stimulation and its mechanisms as an infinite improbability drive of the brain's functional connectogram. Front Neuroinform 2023; 17:1173597. [PMID: 37293579 PMCID: PMC10244597 DOI: 10.3389/fninf.2023.1173597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Rationalized development of electrical stimulation (ES) therapy is of paramount importance. Not only it will foster new techniques and technologies with increased levels of safety, efficacy, and efficiency, but it will also facilitate the translation from basic research to clinical practice. For such endeavor, design of new technologies must dialogue with state-of-the-art neuroscientific knowledge. By its turn, neuroscience is transitioning-a movement started a couple of decades earlier-into adopting a new conceptual framework for brain architecture, in which time and thus temporal patterns plays a central role in the neuronal representation of sampled data from the world. This article discusses how neuroscience has evolved to understand the importance of brain rhythms in the overall functional architecture of the nervous system and, consequently, that neuromodulation research should embrace this new conceptual framework. Based on such support, we revisit the literature on standard (fixed-frequency pulsatile stimuli) and mostly non-standard patterns of ES to put forward our own rationale on how temporally complex stimulation schemes may impact neuromodulation strategies. We then proceed to present a low frequency, on average (thus low energy), scale-free temporally randomized ES pattern for the treatment of experimental epilepsy, devised by our group and termed NPS (Non-periodic Stimulation). The approach has been shown to have robust anticonvulsant effects in different animal models of acute and chronic seizures (displaying dysfunctional hyperexcitable tissue), while also preserving neural function. In our understanding, accumulated mechanistic evidence suggests such a beneficial mechanism of action may be due to the natural-like characteristic of a scale-free temporal pattern that may robustly compete with aberrant epileptiform activity for the recruitment of neural circuits. Delivering temporally patterned or random stimuli within specific phases of the underlying oscillations (i.e., those involved in the communication within and across brain regions) could both potentiate and disrupt the formation of neuronal assemblies with random probability. The usage of infinite improbability drive here is obviously a reference to the "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" comedy science fiction classic, written by Douglas Adams. The parallel is that dynamically driving brain functional connectogram, through neuromodulation, in a manner that would not favor any specific neuronal assembly and/or circuit, could re-stabilize a system that is transitioning to fall under the control of a single attractor. We conclude by discussing future avenues of investigation and their potentially disruptive impact on neurotechnology, with a particular interest in NPS implications in neural plasticity, motor rehabilitation, and its potential for clinical translation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinícius Rosa Cota
- Rehab Technologies - INAIL Lab, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genoa, Italy
- Laboratory of Neuroengineering and Neuroscience, Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of São João del-Rei, São João del Rei, Brazil
| | - Sérgio Augusto Vieira Cançado
- Núcleo Avançado de Tratamento das Epilepsias (NATE), Felício Rocho Hospital, Fundação Felice Rosso, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Márcio Flávio Dutra Moraes
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Núcleo de Neurociências, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
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Batista Tsukahara VH, de Oliveira Júnior JN, de Oliveira Barth VB, de Oliveira JC, Rosa Cota V, Maciel CD. Data-Driven Network Dynamical Model of Rat Brains During Acute Ictogenesis. Front Neural Circuits 2022; 16:747910. [PMID: 36034337 PMCID: PMC9399918 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2022.747910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders worldwide. Recent findings suggest that the brain is a complex system composed of a network of neurons, and seizure is considered an emergent property resulting from its interactions. Based on this perspective, network physiology has emerged as a promising approach to explore how brain areas coordinate, synchronize and integrate their dynamics, both under perfect health and critical illness conditions. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to present an application of (Dynamic) Bayesian Networks (DBN) to model Local Field Potentials (LFP) data on rats induced to epileptic seizures based on the number of arcs found using threshold analytics. Results showed that DBN analysis captured the dynamic nature of brain connectivity across ictogenesis and a significant correlation with neurobiology derived from pioneering studies employing techniques of pharmacological manipulation, lesion, and modern optogenetics. The arcs evaluated under the proposed approach achieved consistent results based on previous literature, in addition to demonstrating robustness regarding functional connectivity analysis. Moreover, it provided fascinating and novel insights, such as discontinuity between forelimb clonus and generalized tonic-clonic seizure (GTCS) dynamics. Thus, DBN coupled with threshold analytics may be an excellent tool for investigating brain circuitry and their dynamical interplay, both in homeostasis and dysfunction conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Hugo Batista Tsukahara
- Signal Processing Laboratory, School of Engineering of São Carlos, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Jordão Natal de Oliveira Júnior
- Signal Processing Laboratory, School of Engineering of São Carlos, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Vitor Bruno de Oliveira Barth
- Signal Processing Laboratory, School of Engineering of São Carlos, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Jasiara Carla de Oliveira
- Laboratory of Neuroengineering and Neuroscience, Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of São João Del-Rei, São João Del Rei, Brazil
| | - Vinicius Rosa Cota
- Laboratory of Neuroengineering and Neuroscience, Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of São João Del-Rei, São João Del Rei, Brazil
| | - Carlos Dias Maciel
- Signal Processing Laboratory, School of Engineering of São Carlos, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Carlos Dias Maciel
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Réboli LA, Maciel RM, de Oliveira JC, Moraes MFD, Tilelli CQ, Cota VR. Persistence of neural function in animals submitted to seizure-suppressing scale-free nonperiodic electrical stimulation applied to the amygdala. Behav Brain Res 2022; 426:113843. [PMID: 35304185 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2022.113843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Revised: 02/11/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Based on the rationale that neural hypersynchronization underlies epileptic phenomena, nonperiodic stimulation (NPS) was designed and successfully tested as an electrical stimulus with robust anticonvulsant action. Considering the scale-free temporal structure of NPS mimics natural-like activity, here we hypothesized its application to the amygdala would induce minor to none impairment of neural function in treated animals. Wistar rats underwent gold-standard behavioral tests such as open field (OF), elevated plus-maze (EPM), novel object recognition, and social interaction test in order to evaluate the functions of base-level anxiety, motor function, episodic memory, and sociability. We also performed daily (8 days, 6 h per day) electrophysiological recordings (local field potential/LFP and electromyography) to assess global forebrain dynamics and the sleep-wake cycle architecture and integrity. All animals displayed an increased proportion of time exploring new objects, spent more time in the closed arms of the EPM and in the periphery of the OF arena, with similar numbers of crossing between quadrants and no significant changes of social behaviors. In the sleep-wake cycle electrophysiology experiments, we found no differences regarding duration and proportion of sleep stages and the number of transitions between stages. Finally, the power spectrum of LFP recordings and neurodynamics were also unaltered. We concluded that NPS did not impair neural functions evaluated and thus, it may be safe for clinical studies. Additionally, results corroborate the notion that NPS may exert an on-demand only desynchronization effect by efficiently competing with epileptiform activity for the physiological and healthy recruitment of neural circuitry. Considering the very dynamical nature of circuit activation and functional activity underlying neural function in general (including cognition, processing of emotion, memory acquisition, and sensorimotor integration) and its corruption leading to disorder, such mechanism of action may have important implications in the investigation of neuropsychological phenomena and also in the development of rehabilitation neurotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larissa Altoé Réboli
- Laboratory of Neuroengineering and Neuroscience (LINNce), Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of São João Del-Rei. Pça. Frei Orlando, 170 - Centro, São João Del-Rei, MG 36302-357, Brazil
| | - Renato Marciano Maciel
- Laboratory of Neuroengineering and Neuroscience (LINNce), Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of São João Del-Rei. Pça. Frei Orlando, 170 - Centro, São João Del-Rei, MG 36302-357, Brazil; Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (CRNL), UMR 5292 CNRS/U1028 INSERM and Université de Lyon, Lyon I, Neurocampus-Michel Jouvet, 95 Boulevard Pinel, 69500 Bron, France
| | - Jasiara Carla de Oliveira
- Laboratory of Neuroengineering and Neuroscience (LINNce), Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of São João Del-Rei. Pça. Frei Orlando, 170 - Centro, São João Del-Rei, MG 36302-357, Brazil; UNIPTAN - Centro Universitário Presidente Tancredo de Almeida Neves, Av. Leite de Castro, 1101 - Fábricas, São João Del Rei, MG 36301-182, Brazil
| | - Márcio Flávio Dutra Moraes
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627 - Campus Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Cristiane Queixa Tilelli
- Laboratory of Physiology, Campus Centro-Oeste Dona Lindu, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, Av. Sebastião Gonçalves Coelho, 400 - Belvedere, Divinópolis, MG, 35.501-296, Brazil
| | - Vinícius Rosa Cota
- Laboratory of Neuroengineering and Neuroscience (LINNce), Department of Electrical Engineering, Federal University of São João Del-Rei. Pça. Frei Orlando, 170 - Centro, São João Del-Rei, MG 36302-357, Brazil.
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Survival analysis of nonperiodic stimulation (NPS) performance. Epilepsy Behav 2021; 122:108166. [PMID: 34343958 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.108166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Electrical Stimulation (ES) of the nervous system is a promising alternative to treat refractory epilepsy. Recent developments in the area have led to a novel method involving a non-standard form of electrical stimulation with randomized inter-pulse intervals called non-periodic stimulation (NPS). Although it is an interesting approach, there is limited statistical proof to confirm its effectiveness. Therefore this brief communication presents a survival analysis of a pre-clinical trial to assess the significance of NPS therapy. The experiment comprised four groups of rats that have been compared: two with and two without NPS treatment. ES was applied bilaterally to the amygdala in animals subjected to the pentylenetetrazole continuous infusion (10 mg/ml/min) model, myoclonic or tonic-clonic generalized seizures were triggered. The Kaplan-Meier estimator was used to develop survival functions and the Logrank test was carried out to check the differences among groups. The first comparison was made between two groups of rats that developed generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTC groups), those who received NPS treatment took longer to develop epileptic seizures. The logrank test proved statistical difference due to reaching a p-value of 7%. The second comparison was performed between two groups of rats that developed myoclonic seizures (MYO groups), and once again better survival probabilities were observed for the NPS group. The Logrank test revealed a p-value of 0.5% thereof. Thus, a survival analysis of NPS treatment proved effectiveness against seizures by promoting an anticonvulsant effect. By comparing the groups selected for this study, it was found that the NPS treatment yielded better results, mainly against myoclonic seizures.
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Moraes MFD, de Castro Medeiros D, Mourao FAG, Cancado SAV, Cota VR. Epilepsy as a dynamical system, a most needed paradigm shift in epileptology. Epilepsy Behav 2021; 121:106838. [PMID: 31859231 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2019.106838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The idea of the epileptic brain being highly excitable and facilitated to synchronic activity has guided pharmacological treatment since the early twentieth century. Although tackling epilepsy's seizure-prone feature, by tonically modifying overall circuit excitability and/or connectivity, the last 50 years of drug development has not seen a substantial improvement in seizure suppression of refractory epilepsies. This review presents a new conceptual framework for epilepsy in which the temporal dynamics of the disease plays a more critical role in both its understanding and therapeutic strategies. The repetitive epileptiform pattern (characteristic during ictal activity) and other well-defined electrographic signatures (i.e., present during the interictal period) are discussed in terms of the sequential activation of the circuit motifs. Lessons learned from the physiological activation of neural circuitry are used to further corroborate the argument and explore the transition from proper function to a state of instability. Furthermore, the review explores how interfering in the temporally dependent abnormal connectivity between circuits may work as a therapeutic approach. We also review the use of probing stimulation to access network connectivity and evaluate its power to determine transitional states of the dynamical system as it moves towards regions of instability, especially when conventional electrographic monitoring is proven inefficient. Unorthodox cases, with little or no scalp electrographic correlate, in which ictogenic circuitry and/or seizure spread is temporally restricted to neurovegetative, cognitive, and motivational areas are shown as possible explanations for sudden death in epilepsy (SUDEP) and other psychiatric comorbidities. In short, this review presents a paradigm shift in the way that we address the disease and is aimed to encourage debate rather than narrow the rationale epilepsy is currently engaged in. This article is part of the Special Issue "NEWroscience 2018".
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Affiliation(s)
- Márcio Flávio Dutra Moraes
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Centro de Tecnologia e Pesquisa em Magneto Ressonância, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Elétrica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
| | - Daniel de Castro Medeiros
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Flávio Afonso Gonçalves Mourao
- Núcleo de Neurociências, Departamento de Fisiologia e Biofísica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Centro de Tecnologia e Pesquisa em Magneto Ressonância, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Elétrica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | | | - Vinicius Rosa Cota
- Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neuroengenharia e Neurociências, Departamento de Engenharia Elétrica, Universidade Federal de São João Del-Rei, São João Del-Rei, Brazil
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Nonperiodic stimulation for the treatment of refractory epilepsy: Applications, mechanisms, and novel insights. Epilepsy Behav 2021; 121:106609. [PMID: 31704250 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2019.106609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Electrical stimulation of the central nervous system is a promising alternative for the treatment of pharmacoresistant epilepsy. Successful clinical and experimental stimulation is most usually carried out as continuous trains of current or voltage pulses fired at rates of 100 Hz or above, since lower frequencies yield controversial results. On the other hand, stimulation frequency should be as low as possible, in order to maximize implant safety and battery efficiency. Moreover, the development of stimulation approaches has been largely empirical in general, while they should be engineered with the neurobiology of epilepsy in mind if a more robust, efficient, efficacious, and safe application is intended. In an attempt to reconcile evidence of therapeutic effect with the understanding of the underpinnings of epilepsy, our group has developed a nonstandard form of low-frequency stimulation with randomized interpulse intervals termed nonperiodic stimulation (NPS). The rationale was that an irregular temporal pattern would impair neural hypersynchronization, which is a hallmark of epilepsy. In this review, we start by briefly revisiting the literature on the molecular, cellular, and network level mechanisms of epileptic phenomena in order to highlight this often-overlooked emergent property of cardinal importance in the pathophysiology of the disease. We then review our own studies on the efficacy of NPS against acute and chronic experimental seizures and also on the anatomical and physiological mechanism of the method, paying special attention to the hypothesis that the lack of temporal regularity induces desynchronization. We also put forward a novel insight regarding the temporal structure of NPS that may better encompass the set of findings published by the group: the fact that intervals between stimulation pulses have a distribution that follows a power law and thus may induce natural-like activity that would compete with epileptiform discharge for the recruitment of networks. We end our discussion by mentioning ongoing research and future projects of our lab.
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Mihály I, Orbán-Kis K, Gáll Z, Berki ÁJ, Bod RB, Szilágyi T. Amygdala Low-Frequency Stimulation Reduces Pathological Phase-Amplitude Coupling in the Pilocarpine Model of Epilepsy. Brain Sci 2020; 10:brainsci10110856. [PMID: 33202818 PMCID: PMC7696538 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci10110856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Revised: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Temporal-lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common type of drug-resistant epilepsy and warrants the development of new therapies, such as deep-brain stimulation (DBS). DBS was applied to different brain regions for patients with epilepsy; however, the mechanisms of action are not fully understood. Therefore, we tried to characterize the effect of amygdala DBS on hippocampal electrical activity in the lithium-pilocarpine model in male Wistar rats. After status epilepticus (SE) induction, seizure patterns were determined based on continuous video recordings. Recording electrodes were inserted in the left and right hippocampus and a stimulating electrode in the left basolateral amygdala of both Pilo and age-matched control rats 10 weeks after SE. Daily stimulation protocol consisted of 4 × 50 s stimulation trains (4-Hz, regular interpulse interval) for 10 days. The hippocampal electroencephalogram was analyzed offline: interictal epileptiform discharge (IED) frequency, spectral analysis, and phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) between delta band and higher frequencies were measured. We found that the seizure rate and duration decreased (by 23% and 26.5%) and the decrease in seizure rate correlated negatively with the IED frequency. PAC was elevated in epileptic animals and DBS reduced the pathologically increased PAC and increased the average theta power (25.9% ± 1.1 vs. 30.3% ± 1.1; p < 0.01). Increasing theta power and reducing the PAC could be two possible mechanisms by which DBS may exhibit its antiepileptic effect in TLE; moreover, they could be used to monitor effectiveness of stimulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- István Mihály
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Târgu Mureș, 540142 Târgu Mureș, Romania; (K.O.-K.); (Á.-J.B.); (R.-B.B.), (T.S.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +40-749-768-257
| | - Károly Orbán-Kis
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Târgu Mureș, 540142 Târgu Mureș, Romania; (K.O.-K.); (Á.-J.B.); (R.-B.B.), (T.S.)
| | - Zsolt Gáll
- Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacy, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Târgu Mureș, 540142 Târgu Mureș, Romania;
| | - Ádám-József Berki
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Târgu Mureș, 540142 Târgu Mureș, Romania; (K.O.-K.); (Á.-J.B.); (R.-B.B.), (T.S.)
| | - Réka-Barbara Bod
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Târgu Mureș, 540142 Târgu Mureș, Romania; (K.O.-K.); (Á.-J.B.); (R.-B.B.), (T.S.)
| | - Tibor Szilágyi
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Târgu Mureș, 540142 Târgu Mureș, Romania; (K.O.-K.); (Á.-J.B.); (R.-B.B.), (T.S.)
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de Oliveira J, Drabowski B, Rodrigues S, Maciel R, Moraes M, Cota V. Seizure suppression by asynchronous non-periodic electrical stimulation of the amygdala is partially mediated by indirect desynchronization from nucleus accumbens. Epilepsy Res 2019; 154:107-115. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2019.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2018] [Revised: 04/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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