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A study of decoding human brain activities from simultaneous data of EEG and fMRI using MVPA

Zafar R, Kamel N, Naufal M, Malik AS, Dass SC, Ahmad RF, et al.

Australas Phys Eng Sci Med, 2018 Sep;41(3):633-645.
PMID: 29948968 DOI: 10.1007/s13246-018-0656-5

Neuroscientists have investigated the functionality of the brain in detail and achieved remarkable results but this area still need further research. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is considered as the most reliable and accurate technique to decode the human brain activity, on the other hand electroencephalography (EEG) is a portable and low cost solution in brain research. The purpose of this study is to find whether EEG can be used to decode the brain activity patterns like fMRI. In fMRI, data from a very specific brain region is enough to decode the brain activity patterns due to the quality of data. On the other hand, EEG can measure the rapid changes in neuronal activity patterns due to its higher temporal resolution i.e., in msec. These rapid changes mostly occur in different brain regions. In this study, multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) is used both for EEG and fMRI data analysis and the information is extracted from distributed activation patterns of the brain. The significant information among different classes is extracted using two sample t test in both data sets. Finally, the classification analysis is done using the support vector machine. A fair comparison of both data sets is done using the same analysis techniques, moreover simultaneously collected data of EEG and fMRI is used for this comparison. The final analysis is done with the data of eight participants; the average result of all conditions are found which is 65.7% for EEG data set and 64.1% for fMRI data set. It concludes that EEG is capable of doing brain decoding with the data from multiple brain regions. In other words, decoding accuracy with EEG MVPA is as good as fMRI MVPA and is above chance level.
Fulltext IGF-1 enhances cell proliferation and survival during early differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to neural progenitor-like cells

Huat TJ, Khan AA, Pati S, Mustafa Z, Abdullah JM, Jaafar H

BMC Neurosci, 2014;15:91.
PMID: 25047045 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-15-91

There has been increasing interest recently in the plasticity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their potential to differentiate into neural lineages. To unravel the roles and effects of different growth factors in the differentiation of MSCs into neural lineages, we have differentiated MSCs into neural lineages using different combinations of growth factors. Based on previous studies of the roles of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in neural stem cell isolation in the laboratory, we hypothesized that IGF-1 can enhance proliferation and reduce apoptosis in neural progenitor-like cells (NPCs) during differentiation of MSCs into NCPs.We induced MSCs differentiation under four different combinations of growth factors: (A) EGF + bFGF, (B) EGF + bFGF + IGF-1, (C) EGF + bFGF + LIF, (D) EGF + bFGF + BDNF, and (E) without growth factors, as a negative control. The neurospheres formed were characterized by immunofluorescence staining against nestin, and the expression was measured by flow cytometry. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were also studied by MTS and Annexin V assay, respectively, at three different time intervals (24 hr, 3 days, and 5 days). The neurospheres formed in the four groups were then terminally differentiated into neuron and glial cells.
The Malay version of the caregiver assessment of function and upset instrument (Malay-CAFU): a translation and validation study among informal stroke caregivers

Hamzah N, Musa KI, Romli MH, Chen XW, Rahim MZA, Abdullah JM, et al.

BMC Public Health, 2023 Jan 30;23(1):198.
PMID: 36717840 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15076-1

BACKGROUND: Post-stroke complications affect the informal caregivers equally as the stroke survivors, especially those who have a moderate to worst prognosis in functional capacity recovery. Caregiver Assessment of Function and Upset (CAFU) is one of the common tools used in both research and clinical practice to measure the patient's dependency level and the stroke caregivers' upset level.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to translate and validate the CAFU instrument into the Malay language and test the validity and reliability of the CAFU among informal stroke caregivers in Malaysia.
METHODS: A standard forward-backward translation method was employed to translate CAFU. Subsequently, 10 expert panels were included in the validation process, and thereafter reliability testing was conducted among 51 stroke caregivers. The validation of the instrument was determined by computing the content validity indices (CVIs), and we used the Cronbach's alpha method to explore the internal consistency of the overall score and subscales scores of the Malay-CAFU. Finally, the explanatory factor analysis used principal component extraction and a varimax rotation to examine construct validity.
RESULTS: All items of the Malay-CAFU had satisfactory item-level CVI (I-CVI), with values greater than 0.80, and the scale-level CVI (S-CVI) was 0.95. These results indicate that the Malay-CAFU had good relevancy. The internal consistency for the reliability test showed a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.95 for the overall score. The eigenvalues and scree plot supported a two-factor structural model of the instrument. From the explanatory factor analysis, the factor loadings ranged from 0.82 to 0.90 and 0.56 to 0.83, respectively.
CONCLUSION: The Malay-CAFU questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument to assess the dependence level of stroke survivors and the upset level of informal stroke caregivers in Malaysia.
Fulltext MicroRNA profiling reveals unique miRNA signatures in IGF-1 treated embryonic striatal stem cell fate decisions in striatal neurogenesis in vitro

Pati S, Supeno NE, Muthuraju S, Abdul Hadi R, Ghani AR, Idris FM, et al.

Biomed Res Int, 2014;2014:503162.
PMID: 25254208 DOI: 10.1155/2014/503162

The striatum is considered to be the central processing unit of the basal ganglia in locomotor activity and cognitive function of the brain. IGF-1 could act as a control switch for the long-term proliferation and survival of EGF+bFGF-responsive cultured embryonic striatal stem cell (ESSC), while LIF imposes a negative impact on cell proliferation. The IGF-1-treated ESSCs also showed elevated hTERT expression with demonstration of self-renewal and trilineage commitment (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and neurons). In order to decipher the underlying regulatory microRNA (miRNA)s in IGF-1/LIF-treated ESSC-derived neurogenesis, we performed in-depth miRNA profiling at 12 days in vitro and analyzed the candidates using the Partek Genome Suite software. The annotated miRNA fingerprints delineated the differential expressions of miR-143, miR-433, and miR-503 specific to IGF-1 treatment. Similarly, the LIF-treated ESSCs demonstrated specific expression of miR-326, miR-181, and miR-22, as they were nonsignificant in IGF-treated ESSCs. To elucidate the possible downstream pathways, we performed in silico mapping of the said miRNAs into ingenuity pathway analysis. Our findings revealed the important mRNA targets of the miRNAs and suggested specific interactomes. The above studies introduced a new genre of miRNAs for ESSC-based neuroregenerative therapeutic applications.
Fulltext Newcastle disease virus interaction in targeted therapy against proliferation and invasion pathways of glioblastoma multiforme

Abdullah JM, Mustafa Z, Ideris A

Biomed Res Int, 2014;2014:386470.
PMID: 25243137 DOI: 10.1155/2014/386470

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), or grade IV glioma, is one of the most lethal forms of human brain cancer. Current bioscience has begun to depict more clearly the signalling pathways that are responsible for high-grade glioma initiation, migration, and invasion, opening the door for molecular-based targeted therapy. As such, the application of viruses such as Newcastle disease virus (NDV) as a novel biological bullet to specifically target aberrant signalling in GBM has brought new hope. The abnormal proliferation and aggressive invasion behaviour of GBM is reported to be associated with aberrant Rac1 protein signalling. NDV interacts with Rac1 upon viral entry, syncytium induction, and actin reorganization of the infected cell as part of the replication process. Ultimately, intracellular stress leads the infected glioma cell to undergo cell death. In this review, we describe the characteristics of malignant glioma and the aberrant genetics that drive its aggressive phenotype, and we focus on the use of oncolytic NDV in GBM-targeted therapy and the interaction of NDV in GBM signalling that leads to inhibition of GBM proliferation and invasion, and subsequently, cell death.
Fulltext Viability reduction and Rac1 gene downregulation of heterogeneous ex-vivo glioma acute slice infected by the oncolytic Newcastle disease virus strain V4UPM

Mustafa Z, Shamsuddin HS, Ideris A, Ibrahim R, Jaafar H, Ali AM, et al.

Biomed Res Int, 2013;2013:248507.
PMID: 23586025 DOI: 10.1155/2013/248507

Oncolytic viruses have been extensively evaluated for anticancer therapy because this virus preferentially infects cancer cells without interfering with normal cells. Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) is an avian virus and one of the intensively studied oncolytic viruses affecting many types of cancer including glioma. Nevertheless, the capability of NDV infection on heterogeneous glioma tissue in a cerebrospinal fluid atmosphere has never been reported. Recently, Rac1 is reported to be required for efficient NDV replication in human cancer cells and established a link between tumourigenesis and sensitivity to NDV. Rac1 is a member of the Rho GTPases involved in the regulation of the cell migration and cell-cycle progression. Rac1 knockdown leads to significant inhibition of viral replication. In this work, we demonstrated that NDV treatment led to significant reduction of tumour tissue viability of freshly isolated heterogeneous human brain tumour slice, known as an ex vivo glioma acute slice (EGAS). Analysis of gene expression indicated that reduced tissue viability was associated with downregulation of Rac1. However, the viability reduction was not persistent. We conclude that NDV treatment induced EGAS viability suppression, but subsequent downregulation of Rac1 gene may reduce the NDV replication and lead to regrowth of EGAS tissue.
Fulltext Review on Cross Talk between Neurotransmitters and Neuroinflammation in Striatum and Cerebellum in the Mediation of Motor Behaviour

Abg Abd Wahab DY, Gau CH, Zakaria R, Muthu Karuppan MK, A-Rahbi BS, Abdullah Z, et al.

Biomed Res Int, 2019;2019:1767203.
PMID: 31815123 DOI: 10.1155/2019/1767203

Neurological diseases particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), stroke, and epilepsy are on the rise all around the world causing morbidity and mortality globally with a common symptom of gradual loss or impairment of motor behaviour. Striatum, which is a component of the basal ganglia, is involved in facilitating voluntary movement while the cerebellum is involved in the maintenance of balance and coordination of voluntary movements. Dopamine, serotonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and glutamate, to name a few, interact in regulating the excitation and inhibition of motor neurons. In another hand, interestingly, the motor loss associated with neurological diseases is possibly resulted from neuroinflammation induced by the neuroimmune system. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are present in the central nervous system (CNS), specifically and primarily expressed in microglia and are also found on neurons and astrocytes, functioning mainly in the regulation of proinflammatory cytokine production. TLRs are always found to be associated or involved in the induction of neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases. Activation of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) through TLR4 agonist, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), stimulation initiate a signaling cascade whereby the TLR4-LPS interaction has been found to result in physiological and behavioural changes including retardation of motor activity in the mouse model. TLR4 inhibitor TAK-242 was reflected in the reduction of the spinal cord pathology along with the motor improvement in ALS mouse. There is cross talk with neuroinflammation and neurochemicals. For example, TLR4 activation by LPS is noted to release proinflammatory cytokines, IL-1β, from microglia that subsequently suppresses GABA receptor activities at the postsynaptic site and reduces GABA synthesis at the presynaptic site. Glial glutamate transporter activities are also found to be suppressed, showing the association between TLR4 activation and the related neurotransmitters and corresponding receptors and transporters in the event of neuroinflammation. This review is helpful to understand the connection between neurotransmitter and neuroinflammation in striatum- and cerebellum-mediated motor behaviour.
Fulltext EEG based evaluation of stereoscopic 3D displays for viewer discomfort

Malik AS, Khairuddin RN, Amin HU, Smith ML, Kamel N, Abdullah JM, et al.

Biomed Eng Online, 2015;14:21.
PMID: 25886584 DOI: 10.1186/s12938-015-0006-8

Consumer preference is rapidly changing from 2D to 3D movies due to the sensational effects of 3D scenes, like those in Avatar and The Hobbit. Two 3D viewing technologies are available: active shutter glasses and passive polarized glasses. However, there are consistent reports of discomfort while viewing in 3D mode where the discomfort may refer to dizziness, headaches, nausea or simply not being able to see in 3D continuously.
Fulltext Differential expression of entorhinal cortex and hippocampal subfields α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors enhanced learning and memory of rats following administration of Centella asiatica

Wong JH, Muthuraju S, Reza F, Senik MH, Zhang J, Mohd Yusuf Yeo NAB, et al.

Biomed Pharmacother, 2019 Feb;110:168-180.
PMID: 30469081 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2018.11.044

Centella asiatica (CA) is a widely used traditional herb, notably for its cognitive enhancing effect and potential to increase synaptogenesis. The α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPARs) and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) mediate fast excitatory neurotransmission with key roles in long-term potentiation which is believed to be the cellular mechanism of learning and memory. Improved learning and memory can be an indication to the surface expression level of these receptors. Our previous study demonstrated that administration of CA extract improved learning and memory and enhanced expression of AMPAR GluA1 subunit while exerting no significant effects on GABAA receptors of the hippocampus in rats. Hence, to further elucidate the effects of CA, this study investigated the effects of CA extract in recognition memory and spatial memory, and its effects on AMPAR GluA1 and GluA2 subunit and NMDAR GluN2 A and GluN2B subunit expression in the entorhinal cortex (EC) and hippocampal subfields CA1 and CA3. The animals were administered with saline, 100 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg, and 600 mg/kg of CA extract through oral gavage for 14 days, followed by behavioural analysis through Open Field Test (OFT), Novel Object Recognition Task (NORT), and Morris Water Maze (MWM) and lastly morphological and immunohistochemical analysis of the surface expression of AMPAR and NMDAR subunits were performed. The results showed that 14 days of administration of 600 mg/kg of CA extract significantly improved memory assessed through NORT while 300 mg/kg of CA extract significantly improved memory of the animals assessed through MWM. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed differential modulation effects on the expressions of receptor subunits across CA1, CA3 and EC. The CA extract at the highest dose (600 mg/kg) significantly enhanced the expression of AMPAR subunit GluA1 and GluA2 in CA1, CA3 and EC, and NMDAR subunit GluN2B in CA1 and CA3 compared to control. At 300 mg/kg, CA significantly increased expression of AMPAR GluA1 in CA1 and EC, and GluA2 in CA1, CA3 and EC while 100 mg/kg of CA significantly increased expression of only AMPAR subunit GluA2 in CA3 and EC. Expression of NMDAR subunit GluN2 A was significantly reduced in the CA3 (at 100, 300, and 600 mg/kg) while no significant changes of subunit expression was observed in CA1 and EC compared to control. The results suggest that the enhanced learning and memory observed in animals administered with CA was mainly mediated through increased expression of AMPAR GluA1 and GluA2 subunits and differential expression of NMDAR GluN2 A and GluN2B subunits in the hippocampal subfields and EC. With these findings, the study revealed a new aspect of cognitive enhancing effect of CA and its therapeutic potentials through modulating receptor subunit expression.
Fulltext Hippocampal amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid GluA1 (AMPA GluA1) receptor subunit involves in learning and memory improvement following treatment with Centella asiatica extract in adolescent rats

Binti Mohd Yusuf Yeo NA, Muthuraju S, Wong JH, Mohammed FR, Senik MH, Zhang J, et al.

Brain Behav, 2018 09;8(9):e01093.
PMID: 30105867 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1093

INTRODUCTION: Centella asiatica is an herbal plant that contains phytochemicals that are widely believed to have positive effects on cognitive function. The adolescent stage is a critical development period for the maturation of brain processes that encompass changes in physical and psychological systems. However, the effect of C. asiatica has not been extensively studied in adolescents. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the effects of a C. asiatica extract on the enhancement of learning and memory in adolescent rats.
METHODS: The locomotor activity, learning, and memory were assessed by using open field test and water T-maze test. This study also examined changes in neuronal cell morphology using cresyl violet and apoptosis staining. We also performed immunohistochemical study to analyse the expression of the glutamate AMPA receptor (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid) GluA1 subunit and the GABA receptor (γ-Aminobutyric Acid) subtype GABAA α1 subunit in the hippocampus of the same animals.
RESULTS: We found no significant changes in locomotor activity (p > 0.05). The water T-maze data showed that 30 mg/kg dose significantly (p 0.05). Histological data revealed no neuronal morphological changes. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed increased expression of the AMPA GluA1 receptor subunit but there was no effect on GABAA receptor α1 subunit expression in the CA1 and CA2 subregions of the hippocampus.
CONCLUSIONS: The C. asiatica extract therefore improved hippocampus-dependent spatial learning and memory in a dose-dependent manner in rats through the GluA1-containing AMPA receptor in the CA1 and CA2 sub regions of the hippocampus.
Fulltext Quantum and Electromagnetic Fields in Our Universe and Brain: A New Perspective to Comprehend Brain Function

Idris Z, Zakaria Z, Yee AS, Fitzrol DN, Ghani ARI, Abdullah JM, et al.

Brain Sci, 2021 Apr 28;11(5).
PMID: 33925002 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11050558

The concept of wholeness or oneness refers to not only humans, but also all of creation. Similarly, consciousness may not wholly exist inside the human brain. One consciousness could permeate the whole universe as limitless energy; thus, human consciousness can be regarded as limited or partial in character. According to the limited consciousness concept, humans perceive projected waves or wave-vortices as a waveless item. Therefore, human limited consciousness collapses the wave function or energy of particles; accordingly, we are only able to perceive them as particles. With this "limited concept", the wave-vortex or wave movement comes into review, which also seems to have a limited concept, i.e., the limited projected wave concept. Notably, this wave-vortex seems to embrace photonic light, as well as electricity and anything in between them, which gives a sense of dimension to our brain. These elements of limited projected wave-vortex and limitless energy (consciousness) may coexist inside our brain as electric (directional pilot wave) and quantum (diffused oneness of waves) brainwaves, respectively, with both of them giving rise to one brain field. Abnormality in either the electrical or the quantum field or their fusion may lead to abnormal brain function.
Fulltext Mitochondrial 10398A>G NADH-Dehydrogenase Subunit 3 of Complex I Is Frequently Altered in Intra-Axial Brain Tumors in Malaysia

Mohamed Yusoff AA, Zulfakhar FN, Mohd Khair SZN, Wan Abdullah WS, Abdullah JM, Idris Z

Brain Tumor Res Treat, 2018 Apr;6(1):31-38.
PMID: 29717568 DOI: 10.14791/btrt.2018.6.e5

BACKGROUND: Mitochondria are major cellular sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation which can induce mitochondrial DNA damage and lead to carcinogenesis. The mitochondrial 10398A>G alteration in NADH-dehydrogenase subunit 3 (ND3) can severely impair complex I, a key component of ROS production in the mitochondrial electron transport chain. Alteration in ND3 10398A>G has been reported to be linked with diverse neurodegenerative disorders and cancers. The aim of this study was to find out the association of mitochondrial ND3 10398A>G alteration in brain tumor of Malaysian patients.
METHODS: Brain tumor tissues and corresponding blood specimens were obtained from 45 patients. The ND3 10398A>G alteration at target codon 114 was detected using the PCR-RFLP analysis and later was confirmed by DNA sequencing.
RESULTS: Twenty-six (57.8%) patients showed ND3 10398A>G mutation in their tumor specimens, in which 26.9% of these mutations were heterozygous mutations. ND3 10398A>G mutation was not significantly correlated with age, gender, and histological tumor grade, however was found more frequently in intra-axial than in extra-axial tumors (62.5% vs. 46.2%, p<0.01).
CONCLUSION: For the first time, we have been able to describe the occurrence of ND3 10398A>G mutations in a Malaysian brain tumor population. It can be concluded that mitochondrial ND3 10398A>G alteration is frequently present in brain tumors among Malaysian population and it shows an impact on the intra-axial tumors.
Introduction of a newly created AW stereotactic frame: a phantom-based accuracy evaluation and an initial experience in clinical usage

Lau BL, Idris Z, Abdullah JM, Bujang MA, Wong ASH

Br J Neurosurg, 2023 Dec;37(6):1572-1579.
PMID: 33191803 DOI: 10.1080/02688697.2020.1837728

BACKGROUND: A new stereotactic frame was created in 2015, based on a linear algorithm. It is called Albert Wong (AW) frame. A simple AW stereo-calculator was also designed based on Excel® (Microscoft Corporation, Redmond, WA) programme for the frame.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to test the accuracy of the AW frame by a direct head to head comparison with CRW® frame (Integra Life Sciences, Plainsboro, NJ) on a phantom.
METHODS: This is a prospective pilot cross-sectional phantom study with a total of 42 (21 for AW and 21 for CRW®) laboratory testings performed in 2017 at our institute to compare the accuracies of both frames in a consecutive manner. A phantom (BL phantom) was newly created, where targets can be placed at different heights and positions on a platform attached under the frame for accuracy testing comparing between the AW and CRW® frames.
RESULTS: A comparable accuracy testing results were observed between the AW and CRW® frames of 0.64 mm versus 1.07 mm respectively. Approval from the local ethics committee for a clinical trial was obtained. We report on three case illustrations who had the AW frame-based biopsies with definitive diagnoses and without any post-biopsy related complication.
CONCLUSION: AW frame successfully demonstrated a good accuracy of 0.64 mm in phantom testing using the BL phantom by a linear algorithmic calculation. The clinical trial with three patients demonstrated definitive diagnoses and safety with its use.
Functional Alteration in the Brain Due to Tumour Invasion in Paediatric Patients: A Systematic Review

Sahrizan NSA, Manan HA, Abdul Hamid H, Abdullah JM, Yahya N

Cancers (Basel), 2023 Apr 06;15(7).
PMID: 37046828 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15072168

Working memory, language and speech abilities, motor skills, and visual abilities are often impaired in children with brain tumours. This is because tumours can invade the brain's functional areas and cause alterations to the neuronal networks. However, it is unclear what the mechanism of tumour invasion is and how various treatments can cause cognitive impairment. Therefore, this study aims to systematically evaluate the effects of tumour invasion on the cognitive, language, motor, and visual abilities of paediatric patients, as well as discuss the alterations and modifications in neuronal networks and anatomy. The electronic database, PubMed, was used to find relevant studies. The studies were systematically reviewed based on the type and location of brain tumours, cognitive assessment, and pre- and post-operative deficits experienced by patients. Sixteen studies were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria following the guidelines from PRISMA. Most studies agree that tumour invasion in the brain causes cognitive dysfunction and alteration in patients. The effects of a tumour on cognition, language, motor, and visual abilities depend on the type of tumour and its location in the brain. The alteration to the neuronal networks is also dependent on the type and location of the tumour. However, the default mode network (DMN) is the most affected network, regardless of the tumour type and location.Furthermore, our findings suggest that different treatment types can also contribute to patients' cognitive function to improve or deteriorate. Deficits that persisted or were acquired after surgery could result from surgical manipulation or the progression of the tumour's growth. Meanwhile, recovery from the deficits indicated that the brain has the ability to recover and reorganise itself.
Fulltext Significant transcriptomic changes are associated with differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells into neural progenitor-like cells in the presence of bFGF and EGF

Khan AA, Huat TJ, Al Mutery A, El-Serafi AT, Kacem HH, Abdallah SH, et al.

Cell Biosci, 2020;10:126.
PMID: 33133516 DOI: 10.1186/s13578-020-00487-z

Introduction: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from bone marrow have different developmental origins, including neural crest. MSCs can differentiate into neural progenitor-like cells (NPCs) under the influence of bFGF and EGF. NPCs can terminally differentiate into neurons that express beta-III-tubulin and elicit action potential. The main aim of the study was to identify key genetic markers involved in differentiation of MSCs into NPCs through transcriptomic analysis.
Method: Total RNA was isolated from MSCs and MSCs-derived NPCs followed by cDNA library construction for transcriptomic analysis. Sample libraries that passed the quality and quantity assessments were subjected to high throughput mRNA sequencing using NextSeq®500. Differential gene expression analysis was performed using the DESeq2 R package with MSC samples being a reference group. The expression of eight differentially regulated genes was counter validated using real-time PCR.
Results: In total, of the 3,252 differentially regulated genes between MSCs and NPCs with two or more folds, 1,771 were upregulated genes, whereas 1,481 were downregulated in NPCs. Amongst these differential genes, 104 transcription factors were upregulated, and 45 were downregulated in NPCs. Neurogenesis related genes were upregulated in NPCs and the main non-redundant gene ontology (GO) terms enriched in NPCs were the autonomic nervous system, cell surface receptor signalling pathways), extracellular structure organisation, and programmed cell death. The main non-redundant GO terms enriched in MSCs included cytoskeleton organisation cytoskeleton structural constituent, mitotic cell cycle), and the mitotic cell cycle process Gene set enrichment analysis also confirmed cell cycle regulated pathways as well as Biocarta integrin pathway were upregulated in MSCs. Transcription factors enrichment analysis by ChEA3 revealed Foxs1 and HEYL, amongst the top five transcription factors, inhibits and enhances, respectively, the NPCs differentiation of MSCs.
Conclusions: The vast differences in the transcriptomic profiles between NPCs and MSCs revealed a set of markers that can identify the differentiation stage of NPCs as well as provide new targets to enhance MSCs differentiation into NPCs.
Disconnecting surgery at alveus and cornu ammonis of hippocampus, amygdala superficialis, and amygdala medial nuclei for epilepsy associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Idris Z, Zakaria Z, Halim SA, Razak SA, Ghani ARI, Abdullah JM

Childs Nerv Syst, 2021 05;37(5):1797-1802.
PMID: 32949261 DOI: 10.1007/s00381-020-04893-z

The neural basis for epilepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is currently incompletely known. We reported a young girl with both epilepsy and ADHD, who had a calcified lesion in the right basolateral amygdalo-hippocampal region extending to the ventral striatum. The child underwent disconnecting surgery and biopsy of the lesion. Fascinatingly, the child's behavior changed immediately after the surgery from inattentive and impulsive to nearly normal behavior experiencing no more breakthrough seizures since after 3 years of surgery. The Schaltenbrand Wahren Brain Atlas revealed alveus, cornu ammonis, amygdala superficialis, and medium as the disconnected region in this surgery.
Localized N20 Component of Somatosensory Evoked Magnetic Fields in Frontoparietal Brain Tumor Patients Using Noise-Normalized Approaches

Elaina NS, Malik AS, Shams WK, Badruddin N, Abdullah JM, Reza MF

Clin Neuroradiol, 2018 Jun;28(2):267-281.
PMID: 28116447 DOI: 10.1007/s00062-017-0557-0

PURPOSE: To localize sensorimotor cortical activation in 10 patients with frontoparietal tumors using quantitative magnetoencephalography (MEG) with noise-normalized approaches.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Somatosensory evoked magnetic fields (SEFs) were elicited in 10 patients with somatosensory tumors and in 10 control participants using electrical stimulation of the median nerve via the right and left wrists. We localized the N20m component of the SEFs using dynamic statistical parametric mapping (dSPM) and standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) combined with 3D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The obtained coordinates were compared between groups. Finally, we statistically evaluated the N20m parameters across hemispheres using non-parametric statistical tests.
RESULTS: The N20m sources were accurately localized to Brodmann area 3b in all members of the control group and in seven of the patients; however, the sources were shifted in three patients relative to locations outside the primary somatosensory cortex (SI). Compared with the affected (tumor) hemispheres in the patient group, N20m amplitudes and the strengths of the current sources were significantly lower in the unaffected hemispheres and in both hemispheres of the control group. These results were consistent for both dSPM and sLORETA approaches.
CONCLUSION: Tumors in the sensorimotor cortex lead to cortical functional reorganization and an increase in N20m amplitude and current-source strengths. Noise-normalized approaches for MEG analysis that are integrated with MRI show accurate and reliable localization of sensorimotor function.
Fulltext Arrangements of Resting State Electroencephalography as the Input to Convolutional Neural Network for Biometric Identification

Lai CQ, Ibrahim H, Abdullah MZ, Abdullah JM, Suandi SA, Azman A

Comput Intell Neurosci, 2019;2019:7895924.
PMID: 31281339 DOI: 10.1155/2019/7895924

Biometric is an important field that enables identification of an individual to access their sensitive information and asset. In recent years, electroencephalography- (EEG-) based biometrics have been popularly explored by researchers because EEG is able to distinct between two individuals. The literature reviews have shown that convolutional neural network (CNN) is one of the classification approaches that can avoid the complex stages of preprocessing, feature extraction, and feature selection. Therefore, CNN is suggested to be one of the efficient classifiers for biometric identification. Conventionally, input to CNN can be in image or matrix form. The objective of this paper is to explore the arrangement of EEG for CNN input to investigate the most suitable input arrangement of EEG towards the performance of EEG-based identification. EEG datasets that are used in this paper are resting state eyes open (REO) and resting state eyes close (REC) EEG. Six types of data arrangement are compared in this paper. They are matrix of amplitude versus time, matrix of energy versus time, matrix of amplitude versus time for rearranged channels, image of amplitude versus time, image of energy versus time, and image of amplitude versus time for rearranged channels. It was found that the matrix of amplitude versus time for each rearranged channels using the combination of REC and REO performed the best for biometric identification, achieving validation accuracy and test accuracy of 83.21% and 79.08%, respectively.
Fulltext Detection of Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury from Resting-State Eye-Closed Electroencephalography

Lai CQ, Ibrahim H, Abd Hamid AI, Abdullah MZ, Azman A, Abdullah JM

Comput Intell Neurosci, 2020;2020:8923906.
PMID: 32256555 DOI: 10.1155/2020/8923906

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the injuries that can bring serious consequences if medical attention has been delayed. Commonly, analysis of computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is required to determine the severity of a moderate TBI patient. However, due to the rising number of TBI patients these days, employing the CT scan or MRI scan to every potential patient is not only expensive, but also time consuming. Therefore, in this paper, we investigate the possibility of using electroencephalography (EEG) with computational intelligence as an alternative approach to detect the severity of moderate TBI patients. EEG procedure is much cheaper than CT or MRI. Although EEG does not have high spatial resolutions as compared with CT and MRI, it has high temporal resolutions. The analysis and prediction of moderate TBI from EEG using conventional computational intelligence approaches are tedious as they normally involve complex preprocessing, feature extraction, or feature selection of the signal. Thus, we propose an approach that uses convolutional neural network (CNN) to automatically classify healthy subjects and moderate TBI patients. The input to this computational intelligence system is the resting-state eye-closed EEG, without undergoing preprocessing and feature selection. The EEG dataset used includes 15 healthy volunteers and 15 moderate TBI patients, which is acquired at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia. The performance of the proposed method has been compared with four other existing methods. With the average classification accuracy of 72.46%, the proposed method outperforms the other four methods. This result indicates that the proposed method has the potential to be used as a preliminary screening for moderate TBI, for selection of the patients for further diagnosis and treatment planning.
Fulltext Rare and Unique Case of Midline Anterior Arch of Atlas Non-formation Mimicking Jefferson Type 1 Fracture

Das S, Palaniandy K, Abu Bakar A, Idris Z, Abdullah JM

Cureus, 2020 Feb 03;12(2):e6850.
PMID: 32181085 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.6850

Cervical spine injuries are rare occurrences in children, especially the congenital anomalies of the atlas vertebra. Any injury involving the craniovertebral junction such as Jefferson fracture, is a valid cause for alarm due to the complex nature of the craniovertebral junction and the morbidity associated with it. We report the case of a 10-year-old male, who had failure of fusion of anterior arch of atlas due to the failure of formation of the anterior midline synchondrosis, and this mimicked a Jefferson fracture. If it was not for the peculiar absence of any corresponding evidence to suggest spinal injury, we might have mistaken this extremely rare but benign anomaly for a Jefferson fracture and subjected the patient to needless surgical treatment. Hence, it is concluded that keen clinical acumen and clear understanding of the developmental anatomy of these patients may be necessary to adequately manage them.

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