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Introduction: Back pain is one of the most common causes of pain in the United States. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an intervention for patients with chronic back pain (CBP). However, SCS decreases pain in only 58% of patients and relies on self-reported pain scores as outcome measures. An SCS trial is temporarily implanted for seven days and helps to determine if a permanent SCS is needed. Patients that have a >50% reduction in pain from the trial stimulator makes them eligible for permanent implantation. However, self-reported measures reveal little on how mechanisms in the brain are altered. Other measurements of pain intensity, onset, medication, disabilities, depression, and anxiety have been used with machine learning to predict outcomes with accuracies <70%. We aim to predict long-term SCS responders at 6-months using baseline resting EEG and machine learning. Materials and Methods: We obtained 10-minutes of resting electroencephalography (EEG) and pain questionnaires from nine participants with CBP at two time points: 1) pre-trial baseline. 2) Six months after SCS permanent implant surgery. Subjects were designated as high or moderate responders based on the amount of pain relief provided by the long-term (post six months) SCS, and pain scored on a scale of 0-10 with 0 being no pain and 10 intolerable. We used the resting EEG from baseline to predict long-term treatment outcome. Resting EEG data was fed through a pipeline for classification and to map dipole sources. EEG signals were preprocessed using the EEGLAB toolbox. Independent component analysis and dipole fitting were used to linearly unmix the signal and to map dipole sources from the brain. Spectral analysis was performed to obtain the frequency distribution of the signal. Each power band, delta (1-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-13 Hz), beta (13-30 Hz), and gamma (30-100 Hz), as well as the entire spectrum (1-100 Hz), were used for classification. Furthermore, dipole sources were ranked based on classification feature weights to determine the significance of specific regions in the brain. We used support vector machines to predict pain outcomes. Results and Discussion: We found higher frequency powerbands provide overall classification performance of 88.89%. Differences in power are seen between moderate and high responders in both the frontal and parietal regions for theta, alpha, beta, and the entire spectrum (Fig.1). This can potentially be used to predict patient response to SCS. Conclusions: We found evidence of decreased power in theta, alpha, beta, and entire spectrum in the anterior regions of the parietal cortex and posterior regions of the frontal cortex between moderate and high responders, which can be used for predicting treatment outcomes in long-term pain relief from SCS. Long-term treatment outcome prediction using baseline EEG data has the potential to contribute to decision making in terms of permanent surgery, forgo trial periods, and improve clinical efficiency by beginning to understand the mechanism of action of SCS in the human brain. 

Background and Objectives The goal of this work was to determine the relationship between diffusion microstructure and early changes in Alzheimer disease (AD) severity as assessed by clinical diagnosis, cognitive performance, dementia severity, and plasma concentrations of neurofilament light chain. Methods Diffusion MRI scans were collected on cognitively normal participants (CN) and patients with early mild cognitive impairment (EMCI), late mild cognitive impairment, and AD. Free water (FW) and FW-corrected fractional anisotropy were calculated in the locus coeruleus to transentorhinal cortex tract, 4 magnocellular regions of the basal forebrain (e.g., nucleus basalis of Meynert), entorhinal cortex, and hippocampus. All patients underwent a battery of cognitive assessments; neurofilament light chain levels were measured in plasma samples. Results FW was significantly higher in patients with EMCI compared to CN in the locus coeruleus to transentorhinal cortex tract, nucleus basalis of Meynert, and hippocampus (mean Cohen d = 0.54; p fdr < 0.05). FW was significantly higher in those with AD compared to CN in all the examined regions (mean Cohen d = 1.41; p fdr < 0.01). In addition, FW in the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, nucleus basalis of Meynert, and locus coeruleus to transentorhinal cortex tract positively correlated with all 5 cognitive impairment metrics and neurofilament light chain levels (mean r 2 = 0.10; p fdr < 0.05). Discussion These results show that higher FW is associated with greater clinical diagnosis severity, cognitive impairment, and neurofilament light chain. They also suggest that FW elevation occurs in the locus coeruleus to transentorhinal cortex tract, nucleus basalis of Meynert, and hippocampus in the transition from CN to EMCI, while other basal forebrain regions and the entorhinal cortex are not affected until a later stage of AD. FW is a clinically relevant and noninvasive early marker of structural changes related to cognitive impairment. 

ABSTRACT IMPACT: Understanding how spinal cord stimulation works and who it works best for will improve clinical trial efficacy and prevent unnecessary surgeries. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an intervention for chronic low back pain where standard interventions fail to provide relief. However, estimates suggest only 58% of patients achieve at least 50% reduction in their pain. There is no non-invasive method for predicting relief provided by SCS. We hypothesize neural activity in the brain can fill this gap. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We tested SCS patients at 3 times points: baseline (pre-surgery), at day 7 during the trial period (post-trial), and 6 months after a permanent system had been implanted. At each time point participants completed 10 minutes of eyes closed, resting electroencephalography (EEG) and self-reported their pain. EEG was collected with the ActiveTwo system and a 128-electrode cap. Patients were grouped based on the percentage change of their pain from baseline to the final visit using a median split (super responders > average responders). Spectral density powerbands were extracted from resting EEG to use as input features for machine learning analyses. We used support vector machines to predict response to SCS. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Baseline and post-trial EEG data predicted SCS response at 6-months with 95.56% and 100% accuracy, respectively. The gamma band had the highest performance in differentiating responders. Post-trial EEG data best differentiated the groups with feature weighted dipoles being more highly localized in sensorimotor cortex. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: Understanding how SCS works and who it works best for is the long-term objective of our collaborative research program. These data provide an important first step towards this goal. 

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an intervention for patients with chronic back pain. Technological advances have led to renewed optimism in the field, but mechanisms of action in the brain remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that SCS outcomes will be associated with changes in neural oscillations. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The goal of our team project is to test patients who receive SCS at 3 times points: baseline, at day 7 during the trial period, and day 180 after a permanent system has been implanted. At each time point participants will complete 10 minutes of eyes closed, resting electroencephalography (EEG). EEG will be collected with the ActiveTwo system, a 128-electrode cap, and a 256 channel AD box from BioSemi. Traditional machine learning methods such as support vector machine and more complex models including deep learning will be used to generate interpretable features within resting EEG signals. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Through machine learning, we anticipate that SCS will have a significant effect on resting alpha and beta power in sensorimotor cortex. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: This collaborative project will further the application of machine learning in cognitive neuroscience and allow us to better understand how therapies for chronic pain alter resting brain activity.