@article {2210, title = {Temporal evolution of gamma activity in human cortex during an overt and covert word repetition task.}, journal = {Front Hum Neurosci}, volume = {6}, year = {2012}, month = {05/2012}, pages = {99}, abstract = {

Several scientists have proposed different models for cortical processing of speech. Classically, the regions participating in language were thought to be modular with a linear sequence of activations. More recently, modern theoretical models have posited a more hierarchical and distributed interaction of anatomic areas for the various stages of speech processing. Traditional imaging techniques can only define the location or time of cortical activation, which impedes the further evaluation and refinement of these models. In this study, we take advantage of recordings from the surface of the brain [electrocorticography (ECoG)], which can accurately detect the location and timing of cortical activations, to study the time course of ECoG high gamma (HG) modulations during an overt and covert word repetition task for different cortical areas. For overt word production, our results show substantial perisylvian cortical activations early in the perceptual phase of the task that were maintained through word articulation. However, this broad activation is attenuated during the expressive phase of covert word repetition. Across the different repetition tasks, the utilization of the different cortical sites within the perisylvian region varied in the degree of activation dependent on which stimulus was provided (auditoryor visual cue) and whether the word was to be spoken or imagined. Taken together, the data support current models of speech that have been previously described with functional imaging. Moreover, this study demonstrates that the broad perisylvian speech network activates early and maintains suprathreshold activation throughout the word repetition task that appears to be modulated by the demands of different conditions.

}, keywords = {cortex, Electrocorticography, gamma rhythms, human, Speech}, issn = {1662-5161}, doi = {10.3389/fnhum.2012.00099}, url = {http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22563311}, author = {Leuthardt, E C and Pei, Xiao-Mei and Breshears, Jonathan and Charles M Gaona and Sharma, Mohit and Zachary V. Freudenberg and Barbour, Dennis L and Gerwin Schalk} } @article {2204, title = {Nonuniform high-gamma (60-500 Hz) power changes dissociate cognitive task and anatomy in human cortex.}, journal = {J Neurosci}, volume = {31}, year = {2011}, month = {02/2011}, pages = {2091-100}, abstract = {

High-gamma-band (\>60 Hz) power changes in cortical electrophysiology are a reliable indicator of focal, event-related cortical activity. Despite discoveries of oscillatory subthreshold and synchronous suprathreshold activity at the cellular level, there is an increasingly popular view that high-gamma-band amplitude changes recorded from cellular ensembles are the result of asynchronous firing activity that yields wideband and uniform power increases. Others have demonstrated independence of power changes in the low- and high-gamma bands, but to date, no studies have shown evidence of any such independence above 60 Hz. Based on nonuniformities in time-frequency analyses of electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals, we hypothesized that induced high-gamma-band (60-500 Hz) power changes are more heterogeneous than currently understood. Using single-word repetition tasks in six human subjects, we showed that functional responsiveness of different ECoG high-gamma sub-bands can discriminate cognitive task (e.g., hearing, reading, speaking) and cortical locations. Power changes in these sub-bands of the high-gamma range are consistently present within single trials and have statistically different time courses within the trial structure. Moreover, when consolidated across all subjects within three task-relevant anatomic regions (sensorimotor, Broca{\textquoteright}s area, and superior temporal gyrus), these behavior- and location-dependent power changes evidenced nonuniform\ trends\ across the population. Together, the independence and nonuniformity of power changes across a broad range of frequencies suggest that a new approach to evaluating high-gamma-band cortical activity is necessary. These findings show that in addition to time and location, frequency is another fundamental dimension of high-gamma dynamics.

}, keywords = {Acoustic Stimulation, Adolescent, Adult, Analysis of Variance, Brain Mapping, Brain Waves, Cerebral Cortex, Cognition Disorders, Electroencephalography, Epilepsy, Evoked Potentials, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Nonlinear Dynamics, Photic Stimulation, Reaction Time, Spectrum Analysis, Time Factors, Vocabulary}, issn = {1529-2401}, doi = {10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4722-10.2011}, url = {http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21307246}, author = {Charles M Gaona and Sharma, Mohit and Zachary V. Freudenberg and Breshears, Jonathan and Bundy, David T and Roland, Jarod and Barbour, Dennis L and Gerwin Schalk and Leuthardt, E C} } @article {2206, title = {Using the electrocorticographic speech network to control a brain-computer interface in humans.}, journal = {J Neural Eng}, volume = {8}, year = {2011}, month = {06/2011}, pages = {036004}, abstract = {

Electrocorticography (ECoG) has emerged as a new signal platform for\ brain-computer interface\ (BCI) systems. Classically, the cortical physiology that has been commonly investigated and utilized for device control in humans has been\ brain\ signals from the sensorimotor cortex. Hence, it was unknown whether other neurophysiological substrates, such as the speech network, could be used to further improve on or complement existing motor-based control paradigms. We demonstrate here for the first time that ECoG signals associated with different overt and imagined phoneme articulation can enable invasively monitored human patients to control a one-dimensional\ computer\ cursor rapidly and accurately. This phonetic content was distinguishable within higher gamma frequency oscillations and enabled users to achieve final target accuracies between 68\% and 91\% within 15 min. Additionally, one of the patients achieved robust control using recordings from a microarray consisting of 1 mm spaced microwires. These findings suggest that the cortical network associated with speech could provide an additional cognitive and physiologic substrate for\ BCI\ operation and that these signals can be acquired from a cortical array that is small and minimally invasive.

}, keywords = {Adult, Brain, Brain Mapping, Computer Peripherals, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Feedback, Physiological, Female, Humans, Imagination, Male, Middle Aged, Nerve Net, Speech Production Measurement, User-Computer Interface}, issn = {1741-2552}, doi = {10.1088/1741-2560/8/3/036004}, url = {http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21471638}, author = {Leuthardt, E C and Charles M Gaona and Sharma, Mohit and Szrama, Nicholas and Roland, Jarod and Zachary V. Freudenberg and Solisb, Jamie and Breshears, Jonathan and Gerwin Schalk} } @article {2196, title = {Electrocorticographic frequency alteration mapping for extraoperative localization of speech cortex.}, journal = {Neurosurgery}, volume = {66}, year = {2010}, month = {02/2010}, pages = {E407-9}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE:\ 

Electrocortical stimulation (ECS) has long been established for delineating eloquent cortex in extraoperative mapping. However, ECS is still coarse and inefficient in delineating regions of functional cortex and can be hampered by afterdischarges. Given these constraints, an adjunct approach to defining motor cortex is the use of electrocorticographic (ECoG) signal changes associated with active regions of cortex. The broad range of frequency oscillations are categorized into 2 main groups with respect to sensorimotor cortex: low-frequency bands (LFBs) and high-frequency bands (HFBs). The LFBs tend to show a power reduction, whereas the HFBs show power increases with cortical activation. These power changes associated with activated cortex could potentially provide a powerful tool in delineating areas of speech cortex. We explore ECoG signal alterations as they occur with activated region of speech cortex and its potential in clinical brain mapping applications.

METHODS:\ 

We evaluated 7 patients who underwent invasive monitoring for seizure localization. Each had extraoperative ECS mapping to identify speech cortex. Additionally, all subjects performed overt speech tasks with an auditory or a visual cue to identify associated frequency power changes in regard to location and degree of concordance with ECS results.

RESULTS:\ 

Electrocorticographic frequency alteration mapping (EFAM) had an 83.9\% sensitivity and a 40.4\% specificity in identifying any language site when considering both frequency bands and both stimulus cues. Electrocorticographic frequency alteration mapping was more sensitive in identifying the Wernicke area (100\%) than the Broca area (72.2\%). The HFB is uniquely suited to identifying the Wernicke area, whereas a combination of the HFB and LFB is important for Broca localization.

CONCLUSION:\ 

The concordance between stimulation and spectral power changes demonstrates the possible utility of EFAM as an adjunct method to improve the efficiency and resolution of identifying speech cortex.

}, keywords = {Acoustic Stimulation, Adolescent, Adult, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Chi-Square Distribution, Electroencephalography, Epilepsy, Female, Humans, Male, Mass Spectrometry, Middle Aged, Photic Stimulation, Speech, Verbal Behavior, Young Adult}, issn = {1524-4040}, doi = {10.1227/01.NEU.0000345352.13696.6F}, url = {http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20087111}, author = {Wu, Melinda and Wisneski, Kimberly and Gerwin Schalk and Sharma, Mohit and Roland, Jarod and Breshears, Jonathan and Charles M Gaona and Leuthardt, E C} }