BACKGROUND Hypo/hyperglycemia is a known cause of chorea and hemiballism. The temporallobes, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and substantia nigra are most susceptible to hypoglycemic changes. METHODS We present a caseof bilateral chorea and bi-ballism accompanied by encephalopathyin the setting of severe hypoglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis. The patient had brain MRI changes involving both caud...

The basal ganglia are an interconnected circuit of foreand midbrain nuclei common to all extant vertebrates, including the lamprey, which diverged from the main vertebrate line approximately 560MYA.Moreover, there are analogous structures in birds and bony fish. The preservation of this circuit implies a crucial operation that solves a problem common to all vertebrates. While many functions for...

Massive symmetrical calcification of the basal ganglia and dentate nuclei is now a well recognized radiological finding and great emphasis has been laid on its association with hypoparathyroidism (Lowenthal, 1948). While such an association is undeniable the connexion between the two phenomena is ill understood and cannot at present be accepted as invariable. It is the purpose of this paper to ...

A nine-month old boy was brought to our hospital with a complaint of growth retardation. On cerebral magnetic resonance imaging examination, giant clefts resulting in the connection of lateral ventricles with subarachnoidal spaces were detected in both cerebral hemispheres, and interpreted as bilateral giant open-lip schizencephaly. Associated anomalies were noted on cerebral magnetic resonance...

A 10 years old girl, was admitted to the intensive care unit with seizure, myotonic-clonic jerks in her hands, vomiting, respiratory failure and mild metabolic acidosis. Brain Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and proton MR spectroscopy(MRS) were performed.The MRI findings presented symmetric basal ganglia, brain stem, left thalamus and subthalamic nuclei involvement. MRS obtained from the basal...

The electrophysiological correlates of parkinsonism in the basal ganglia have been well studied in patients with Parkinson's disease and animal models. Separately, striatal dopaminergic cell transplantation has shown promise in ameliorating parkinsonian motor symptoms. However, the effect of dopaminergic grafts on basal ganglia electrophysiology has not thoroughly been investigated. In this stu...

Chronic sleep restriction induces blood-brain barrier disruption and increases pro-inflammatory mediators in rodents. Those inflammatory mediators may modulate the blood-brain barrier and constitute a link between sleep loss and blood-brain barrier physiology. We propose that adenosine action on its A2A receptor may be modulating the blood-brain barrier dynamics in sleep-restricted rats. We adm...

BACKGROUND In neuropsychiatric diseases with basal ganglia involvement, higher cognitive functions are often impaired. In this exploratory study, we examined healthy young adults to gain detailed insight into the relationship between basal ganglia volume and cognitive abilities under non-pathological conditions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We investigated 137 healthy adults that were betwe...

BACKGROUND Although several cases of metronidazole-induced encephalopathy have been reported, to our knowledge, there is no previous report of brain changes in anterior commissure, basal ganglia, cerebellar white matter, and inferior olivary nuclei on magnetic resonance images. The precise mechanisms of action of metronidazole-induced encephalopathy have not been determined. OBJECTIVES To rep...

The 2-deoxyglucose method was used to examine metabolic activity in the hippocampus, dentate gyrus, and amygdala of rhesus monkeys performing working-memory and control tasks. A working-memory group was tested on 1 of 3 tasks requiring trial-by-trial updating of information: delayed spatial response, delayed spatial alternation, or delayed object alternation. A control group was tested either o...