Imaging the Functional Neuroanatomy of Parkinson’s Disease: Clinical Applications and Future Directions

Abstract

The neurobiology of Parkinson’s disease and its progression has been investigated during the last few decades. Braak et al. proposed neuropathological stages of this disease based on the recognizable topographical extent of Lewy body lesions. This pathological process involves specific brain areas with an ascending course from the brain stem to the cortex. Post-mortem studies are of importance to better understand not only the progression of motor symptoms, but also the involvement of other domains, including cognition and behavior. The correlation between the neuropathological expansion of the disease and the clinical phases remains demanding. Neuroimaging, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), could help to bridge this existing gap by providing in vivo evidence of the extension of the disorders. In the last decade, we observed an overabundance of reports regarding the sensitivity of neuroimaging techniques. All these studies were aimed at improving the accuracy of Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis and discriminating it from other causes of parkinsonism. In this review, we look at the recent literature concerning PD and address the new frontier of diagnostic accuracy in terms of identification of early stages of the disease and conventional neuroimaging techniques that, in vivo, are capable of photographing the basal ganglia network and its cerebral connections.

EEG-Based Epileptic Seizure Detection via Machine/Deep Learning Approaches: A Systematic Review

“…By comparing, clinicians can diagnose some diseases related to the neural system. Several studies about epilepsy monitoring have been carried out based on electroencephalography (EEG) [5,6], magnetoencephalography (MEG) [6], positron emission tomography (PET) [7], single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) [8], functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) [5], electrocorticography (ECoG) [9], and functional nearinfrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) [9]. Compared to other techniques used in epilepsy, EEG signal devices are portable and economical, with their recordings being time-domain, and they can be transformed into frequency domain.…”

New Trends in Cognitive Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment

“…Complementarily, Lauretani et al 2021 [ 14 ] propose the use of FDG-PET to measure cerebral metabolic rates of glucose in two cases of Parkinson’s patients with non-motor symptoms, so that better treatment can be achieved based on metabolic changes and not on age-independent motor deterioration. One of the great challenges facing clinical neuroscience is to detect the presence of cognitive impairment in the early stages before it becomes clinically evident.…”

“…and polypharmacy, with a lot of medication that can alter their own quality of life. Regarding mobility, it is a matter of addressing this problem of falls in a preventive way, either through prevention programs, as proposed by Ries and Carroll [ 13 ], or by anticipating it through metabolic measures in Parkinson’s patients, as proposed by Lauretani et al [ 14 ]. Regarding polypharmacy, it is necessary to understand the complexity of therapeutic approaches and, as highlighted by Caamaño et al [ 7 ], the complexity of the management of these situations in different care systems.…”

Cognitive and Behavior Deficits in Parkinson’s Disease with Alteration of FDG-PET Irrespective of Age

“…The development of novel model of clusters of PD patients [ 35 ] may provide additional benefits by slowing or halting progressive decline of PD, increasing quality of life and prolonging survival.…”