UCL Institute of Neurology View Institution's Website 10 articles published in JoVE Neuroscience Automated Segmentation of Cortical Grey Matter from T1-Weighted MRI Images Eileanoir B. Johnson1, Rachael I. Scahill1, Sarah J. Tabrizi1 1Huntington's Disease Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology This protocol describes the process of applying seven different automated segmentation tools to structural T1-weighted MRI scans to delineate grey matter regions that can be used for the quantification of grey matter volume. Biology Measuring Lactase Enzymatic Activity in the Teaching Lab Cattleya S. Leksmono1, Claudia Manzoni1,2, James E. Tomkins1, Walter Lucchesi1,3, Graeme Cottrell1, Patrick A. Lewis1 1School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, 2Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, 3School of Biological Sciences, Royal Hollway, University of London The enzymatic activity of lactase is essential for the catabolic processing of the disaccharide lactose. Here, the activity of lactase found in dietary supplements is assayed using a colorimetric assay. This provides students with an experimental platform for understanding the activity of lactase and enzyme kinetics. Neuroscience CMAP Scan MUNE (MScan) - A Novel Motor Unit Number Estimation (MUNE) Method Anna B. Jacobsen1, Hugh Bostock2, Hatice Tankisi1 1Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Aarhus University Hospital, 2Institute of Neurology, Queen Square House This protocol describes a new method to estimate the number of functioning motor units in a muscle, by fitting a model to a detailed stimulus-response curve of the compound muscle action potential. It is quick and easy to perform and analyze and has excellent reproducibility. Neuroscience Sample Preparation for Endopeptidomic Analysis in Human Cerebrospinal Fluid Karl T. Hansson1, Tobias Skillbäck1,2, Elin Pernevik1, Jessica Holmén-Larsson1, Gunnar Brinkmalm1, Kaj Blennow1,2, Henrik Zetterberg1,2,3, Johan Gobom1,2 1Inst. of Neuroscience and Physiology, Dept. of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, 2Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 3Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology A method for mass spectrometric analysis of endogenous peptides in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is presented. By employing molecular weight cut-off filtration, chromatographic pre-fractionation, mass spectrometric analysis and a subsequent combination of peptide identification strategies, it was possible to expand the known CSF peptidome nearly ten-fold compared to previous studies. Medicine Absolute Quantification of Aβ1-42 in CSF Using a Mass Spectrometric Reference Measurement Procedure Josef Pannee1,2, Kaj Blennow1,2, Henrik Zetterberg1,2,3, Erik Portelius1,2 1Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 2Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 3UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square A reference measurement procedure for the absolute quantification of Aβ1-42 in human CSF based on solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry is described. Medicine A Pipeline for 3D Multimodality Image Integration and Computer-assisted Planning in Epilepsy Surgery Mark Nowell1, Roman Rodionov1, Gergely Zombori2, Rachel Sparks2, Michele Rizzi1, Sebastien Ourselin2, Anna Miserocchi3, Andrew McEvoy3, John Duncan1 1Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy, UCL Institute of Neurology, 2Center of Medical Imaging and Computing, UCL, 3Department of Neurosurgery, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery We describe the steps to use our custom designed software for image integration, visualization and planning in epilepsy surgery. Neuroscience Sequential Extraction of Soluble and Insoluble Alpha-Synuclein from Parkinsonian Brains Rina Bandopadhyay1 1Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, UCL Institute of Neurology Here, we present a protocol for the isolation of increasingly insoluble/aggregated alpha-synuclein (α-syn) from post-mortem human brain tissue. Through the utilization of buffers with increasing detergent strength and high-speed ultracentrifugation techniques, the variable properties of α-syn aggregation in diseased and non-diseased tissue can be examined. Medicine Controlling Parkinson's Disease With Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation Simon Little1, Alek Pogosyan1, Spencer Neal2, Ludvic Zrinzo2, Marwan Hariz2, Thomas Foltynie2, Patricia Limousin2, Peter Brown1 1Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, 2Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience & Movement Disorders, Unit of Functional Neurosurgery, UCL Institute of Neurology Adaptive deep brain stimulation (aDBS) is effective for Parkinson’s disease, improving symptoms and reducing power consumption compared to conventional deep brain stimulation (cDBS). In aDBS we track a local field potential biomarker (beta oscillatory amplitude) in real time and use this to control the timing of stimulation. Biology Assaying the Kinase Activity of LRRK2 in vitro Patrick A. Lewis1 1Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology Leucine Rich Repeat Kinase 2 is a large multidomain kinase, mutations in which are the most common genetic cause of Parkinson's disease. Analysis of the kinase activity of this protein has proven to be a crucial tool in understanding the biology and dysfunction of this protein. In this paper, in vitro assaying of the kinase activity of LRRK2 and a selection of its mutants is described, providing an experimental system to examine phosphorylation of putative substrates and potential dysfunction of LRRK2 in disease. Medicine Method to Measure Tone of Axial and Proximal Muscle Victor S. Gurfinkel1, Timothy W. Cacciatore2, Paul J. Cordo1, Fay B. Horak3 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Oregon Health and Science University, 2UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, 3Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University We have developed a device (Twister) to study the regulation of tonic muscle activity during active postural maintenance. Twister measures torsional resistance and muscular responses in standing subjects during twisting of the body axis. The device can be flexibly configured to study various aspects of tonic control across the neck, trunk, and/or hips.