title: Mismatch negativity analysis in drug-resistant epileptic patients implanted with vagus nerve stimulator.
abstract: It is well known that some epileptic patients does not respond to conventional treatments, despite multiple combination of antiepileptic drugs, and they are therefore considered drug-resistant. For these patients, vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) represents a successful alternative to traditional therapy, and it is generally well tolerated; beside benefits on seizure frequency, VNS showed positive effects on cognition and mood. Aim of this study was to investigate short-term memory changes in a group of 12 patients implanted with VNS, through Mismatch Negativity wave (MMN). After 1 year of follow-up, MMN latencies and amplitudes did not show significant changes following VNS implantation, independently on current intensity, as compared with pre-implantation values. In two patients, MMN values, which were abnormal before VNS implantation, showed a major reduction in latency and an increase in amplitude after implantation, suggesting a likely positive effect of VNS on pre-attentive processes investigated by MMN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Clinical Neurology, Pisa University School of Medicine, Via Roma, 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy. davz77@tin.it
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Borghetti
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pizzanelli
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maritato
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fabbrini
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iudice
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Murri
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sartucci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology*