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Palenciano AF, Senoussi M, Formica S, González-García C. Canonical template tracking: Measuring the activation state of specific neural representations. Front Neuroimaging 2023; 1:974927. [PMID: 37555182 PMCID: PMC10406196 DOI: 10.3389/fnimg.2022.974927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Multivariate analyses of neural data have become increasingly influential in cognitive neuroscience since they allow to address questions about the representational signatures of neurocognitive phenomena. Here, we describe Canonical Template Tracking: a multivariate approach that employs independent localizer tasks to assess the activation state of specific representations during the execution of cognitive paradigms. We illustrate the benefits of this methodology in characterizing the particular content and format of task-induced representations, comparing it with standard (cross-)decoding and representational similarity analyses. Then, we discuss relevant design decisions for experiments using this analysis approach, focusing on the nature of the localizer tasks from which the canonical templates are derived. We further provide a step-by-step tutorial of this method, stressing the relevant analysis choices for functional magnetic resonance imaging and magneto/electroencephalography data. Importantly, we point out the potential pitfalls linked to canonical template tracking implementation and interpretation of the results, together with recommendations to mitigate them. To conclude, we provide some examples from previous literature that highlight the potential of this analysis to address relevant theoretical questions in cognitive neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana F. Palenciano
- Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Mehdi Senoussi
- CLLE Lab, CNRS UMR 5263, University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Silvia Formica
- Department of Psychology, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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2
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Formica S, González-García C, Senoussi M, Marinazzo D, Brass M. Theta-phase connectivity between medial prefrontal and posterior areas underlies novel instructions implementation. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0225-22.2022. [PMID: 35868857 PMCID: PMC9374157 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0225-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Implementing novel instructions is a complex and uniquely human cognitive ability, that requires the rapid and flexible conversion of symbolic content into a format that enables the execution of the instructed behavior. Preparing to implement novel instructions, as opposed to their mere maintenance, involves the activation of the instructed motor plans, and the binding of the action information to the specific context in which this should be executed. Recent evidence and prominent computational models suggest that this efficient configuration of the system might involve a central role of frontal theta oscillations in establishing top-down long-range synchronization between distant and task-relevant brain areas. In the present EEG study (human subjects, 30 females, 4 males), we demonstrate that proactively preparing for the implementation of novels instructions, as opposed to their maintenance, involves a strengthened degree of connectivity in the theta frequency range between medial prefrontal and motor/visual areas. Moreover, we replicated previous results showing oscillatory features associated specifically with implementation demands, and extended on them demonstrating the role of theta oscillations in mediating the effect of task demands on behavioral performance. Taken together, these findings support our hypothesis that the modulation of connectivity patterns between frontal and task-relevant posterior brain areas is a core factor in the emergence of a behavior-guiding format from novel instructions.Significance statementEveryday life requires the use and manipulation of currently available information to guide behavior and reach specific goals. In the present study we investigate how the same instructed content elicits different neural activity depending on the task being performed. Crucially, connectivity between medial prefrontal cortex and posterior brain areas is strengthened when novel instructions have to be implemented, rather than simply maintained. This finding suggests that theta oscillations play a role in setting up a dynamic and flexible network of task-relevant regions optimized for the execution of the instructed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Formica
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Department of Psychology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, 10117, Germany
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent, 9000, Belgium
| | - Carlos González-García
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent, 9000, Belgium
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Granada, Granada, 18071, Spain
| | - Mehdi Senoussi
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent, 9000, Belgium
| | | | - Marcel Brass
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Department of Psychology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, 10117, Germany
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent, 9000, Belgium
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3
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Senoussi M, Verbeke P, Verguts T. Time-Based Binding as a Solution to and a Limitation for Flexible Cognition. Front Psychol 2022; 12:798061. [PMID: 35140662 PMCID: PMC8818715 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.798061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Why can't we keep as many items as we want in working memory? It has long been debated whether this resource limitation is a bug (a downside of our fallible biological system) or instead a feature (an optimal response to a computational problem). We propose that the resource limitation is a consequence of a useful feature. Specifically, we propose that flexible cognition requires time-based binding, and time-based binding necessarily limits the number of (bound) memoranda that can be stored simultaneously. Time-based binding is most naturally instantiated via neural oscillations, for which there exists ample experimental evidence. We report simulations that illustrate this theory and that relate it to empirical data. We also compare the theory to several other (feature and bug) resource theories.
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Rashal E, Senoussi M, Santandrea E, Ben‐Hamed S, Macaluso E, Chelazzi L, Boehler CN. An EEG study of the combined effects of top‐down and bottom‐up attentional selection under varying task difficulty. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e14002. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Einat Rashal
- Department of Experimental Psychology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Mehdi Senoussi
- Department of Experimental Psychology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
| | - Elisa Santandrea
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences University of Verona Verona Italy
| | | | | | - Leonardo Chelazzi
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences University of Verona Verona Italy
| | - C. Nico Boehler
- Department of Experimental Psychology Ghent University Ghent Belgium
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Rashal E, Senoussi M, Santandrea E, Ben-Hamed S, Macaluso E, Chelazzi L, Boehler N. Integrating top-down and bottom-up attention control factors: an EEG study. J Vis 2021. [DOI: 10.1167/jov.21.9.2565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
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Pistono A, Senoussi M, Guerrier L, Rafiq M, Giméno M, Péran P, Jucla M, Pariente J. Language Network Connectivity Increases in Early Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 82:447-460. [PMID: 34024825 PMCID: PMC8293644 DOI: 10.3233/jad-201584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Background: Language production deficits occur early in the course of Alzheimer’s disease (AD); however, only a few studies have focused on language network’s functional connectivity in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD. Objective: The current study aims to uncover the extent of language alteration at the MCI stage, at a behavioral and neural level, using univariate and multivariate analyses of structural MRI and resting-state fMRI. Methods: Twenty-four MCI due to AD participants and 24 matched healthy controls underwent a comprehensive language evaluation, a structural T1-3D MRI, and resting-state fMRI. We performed seed-based analyses, using the left inferior frontal gyrus and left posterior temporal gyrus as seeds. Then, we analyzed connectivity between executive control networks and language network in each group. Finally, we used multivariate pattern analyses to test whether the two groups could be distinguished based on the pattern of atrophy within the language network; within the executive control networks, as well as the pattern of functional connectivity within the language network and within the executive control networks. Results: MCI due to AD participants had language impairment during standardized language tasks and connected-speech production. Regarding functional connectivity, univariate analyses were not able to discriminate participants, while multivariate pattern analyses could significantly predict participants’ group. Language network’s functional connectivity could discriminate MCI due to AD participants better than executive control networks. Most notably, they revealed an increased connectivity at the MCI stage, positively correlated with language performance. Conclusion: Multivariate analyses represent a useful tool for investigating the functional and structural (re-)organization of the neural bases of language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélie Pistono
- Octogone-Lordat Interdisciplinary Research Unit (EA 4156), University of Toulouse II-Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France.,Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Mehdi Senoussi
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Laura Guerrier
- Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, Toulouse University, Inserm, UPS, France
| | - Marie Rafiq
- Department of Neurology, Neuroscience Centre, Toulouse University Hospital, Toulouse, France
| | - Mélanie Giméno
- Octogone-Lordat Interdisciplinary Research Unit (EA 4156), University of Toulouse II-Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France
| | - Patrice Péran
- Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, Toulouse University, Inserm, UPS, France
| | - Mélanie Jucla
- Octogone-Lordat Interdisciplinary Research Unit (EA 4156), University of Toulouse II-Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France
| | - Jérémie Pariente
- Toulouse NeuroImaging Center, Toulouse University, Inserm, UPS, France.,Department of Neurology, Neuroscience Centre, Toulouse University Hospital, Toulouse, France
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Shahnazian D, Senoussi M, Krebs RM, Verguts T, Holroyd CB. Neural Representations of Task Context and Temporal Order During Action Sequence Execution. Top Cogn Sci 2021; 14:223-240. [PMID: 33836116 DOI: 10.1111/tops.12533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Routine action sequences can share a great deal of similarity in terms of their stimulus response mappings. As a consequence, their correct execution relies crucially on the ability to preserve contextual and temporal information. However, there are few empirical studies on the neural mechanism and the brain areas maintaining such information. To address this gap in the literature, we recently recorded the blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response in a newly developed coffee-tea making task. The task involves the execution of four action sequences that each comprise six consecutive decision states, which allows for examining the maintenance of contextual and temporal information. Here, we report a reanalysis of this dataset using a data-driven approach, namely multivariate pattern analysis, that examines context-dependent neural activity across several predefined regions of interest. Results highlight involvement of the inferior-temporal gyrus and lateral prefrontal cortex in maintaining temporal and contextual information for the execution of hierarchically organized action sequences. Furthermore, temporal information seems to be more strongly encoded in areas over the left hemisphere.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ruth M Krebs
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University
| | - Tom Verguts
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University
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Formica S, González-García C, Senoussi M, Brass M. Neural oscillations track the maintenance and proceduralization of novel instructions. Neuroimage 2021; 232:117870. [PMID: 33607280 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans are capable of flexibly converting symbolic instructions into novel behaviors. Previous evidence and theoretical models suggest that the implementation of a novel instruction requires the reformatting of its declarative content into an action-oriented code optimized for the execution of the instructed behavior. While neuroimaging research focused on identifying the brain areas involved in such a process, the temporal and electrophysiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. These mechanisms, however, can provide information about the specific cognitive processes that characterize the proceduralization of information. In the present study, we recorded EEG activity while we asked participants to either simply maintain declaratively the content of novel S-R mappings or to proactively prepare for their implementation. By means of time-frequency analyses, we isolated the oscillatory features specific to the proceduralization of instructions. Implementation of the instructed mappings elicited stronger theta activity over frontal electrodes and suppression in mu and beta activity over central electrodes. On the contrary, activity in the alpha band, which has been shown to track the attentional deployment to task-relevant items, showed no differences between tasks. Together, these results support the idea that proceduralization of information is characterized by specific component processes such as orchestrating complex task settings and configuring the motor system that are not observed when instructions are held in a declarative format.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Formica
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium.
| | | | - Mehdi Senoussi
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Marcel Brass
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium; School of Mind and Brain/Department of Psychology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany
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9
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehdi Senoussi
- ISAE-Supaéro, Université Fédérale de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
- Present address: Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- ://sites.google.com/site/senoussim/
| | - James C. Moreland
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Niko A. Busch
- Institute of Psychology, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, Germany
- Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, Germany
| | - Laura Dugué
- CNRS (Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, UMR 8002), Paris, France
- Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
- ://duguelaura.wixsite.com/mysite
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10
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Dugué L, Senoussi M, Moreland J, Busch N. Attention explores space at the theta frequency. J Vis 2018. [DOI: 10.1167/18.10.727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Dugué
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
| | - Mehdi Senoussi
- Laboratoire des Facteurs Humains, ISAE-Supaéro, Toulouse, France
| | | | - Niko Busch
- Institute of Experimental Psychology, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, Germany
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11
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Senoussi M, Busch N, Galas L, Dugué L. Comparing the neural dynamics of voluntary feature-based and spatial attention. J Vis 2018. [DOI: 10.1167/18.10.975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mehdi Senoussi
- Groupe de recherche en Facteurs Humains et Neuroergonomie, ISAE-Supaéro, Toulouse, France
| | - Niko Busch
- Institute of Experimental Psychology, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, Germany
| | - Laurie Galas
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
| | - Laura Dugué
- Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France
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12
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Senoussi M, Berry I, VanRullen R, Reddy L. Multivoxel Object Representations in Adult Human Visual Cortex Are Flexible: An Associative Learning Study. J Cogn Neurosci 2016; 28:852-68. [PMID: 26836513 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Learning associations between co-occurring events enables us to extract structure from our environment. Medial-temporal lobe structures are critical for associative learning. However, the role of the ventral visual pathway (VVP) in associative learning is not clear. Do multivoxel object representations in the VVP reflect newly formed associations? We show that VVP multivoxel representations become more similar to each other after human participants learn arbitrary new associations between pairs of unrelated objects (faces, houses, cars, chairs). Participants were scanned before and after 15 days of associative learning. To evaluate how object representations changed, a classifier was trained on discriminating two nonassociated categories (e.g., faces/houses) and tested on discriminating their paired associates (e.g., cars/chairs). Because the associations were arbitrary and counterbalanced across participants, there was initially no particular reason for this cross-classification decision to tend toward either alternative. Nonetheless, after learning, cross-classification performance increased in the VVP (but not hippocampus), on average by 3.3%, with some voxels showing increases of up to 10%. For example, a chair multivoxel representation that initially resembled neither face nor house representations was, after learning, classified as more similar to that of faces for participants who associated chairs with faces and to that of houses for participants who associated chairs with houses. Additionally, learning produced long-lasting perceptual consequences. In a behavioral priming experiment performed several months later, the change in cross-classification performance was correlated with the degree of priming. Thus, VVP multivoxel representations are not static but become more similar to each other after associative learning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Isabelle Berry
- Inserm Imagerie cérébrale et handicaps neurologiques UMR 825, Toulouse, France.,Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse Pôle Neurosciences CHU Purpan
| | | | - Leila Reddy
- Université de Toulouse.,CNRS, CerCo, Toulouse, France
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13
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Senoussi M, Berry I, VanRullen R, Reddy L. Object Representations in Human Visual Cortex are Flexible: an Associative Learning study. J Vis 2014. [DOI: 10.1167/14.10.398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
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14
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Bakri Y, Berkowitz RS, Goldstein DP, Subhi J, Senoussi M, von Sinner W, Jabbar FA. Brain metastases of gestational trophoblastic tumor. J Reprod Med 1994; 39:179-84. [PMID: 7518516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Brain involvement by gestational trophoblastic tumor (GTT) was diagnosed by computed tomography in 23 (17%) of 131 patients with metastatic GTT at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre between January 1980 and December 1990. All 23 patients had concurrent lung involvement, and 20 presented with neurologic symptoms. There were three treatment groups: Group A--methotrexate, actinomycin-D, chlorambucil and brain irradiation; group B--cisplatin, VP-16, actinomycin-D and intrathecal methotrexate; and group C--palliative therapy and other chemotherapy. While no patients in groups A or C survived, 4 (57%) of 7 patients in group B achieved complete, sustained remission. Serum:cerebrospinal fluid beta-human chorionic gonadotropin ratios were measured in 9 patients and were < 60 in only 4 patients. The clinical features of patients with brain metastases are reviewed in detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Bakri
- King Faisal Gestational Trophoblastic Center, Section of Gynecologic Oncology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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15
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Bakri YN, Senoussi M. A simple technique for vaginal iridium 192 needles. J Surg Oncol 1993; 53:209. [PMID: 8331945 DOI: 10.1002/jso.2930530318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Y N Bakri
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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16
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Bakri YN, Subhi J, Hashim E, Senoussi M. Umbilical metastasis (Sister Joseph's nodule) from carcinoma of the vagina. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 1991; 70:509-10. [PMID: 1763618 DOI: 10.3109/00016349109007170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
A case is reported of a squamous cell carcinoma of the vagina with metastasis to the umbilicus (Sister Mary Joseph's nodule). Systemic cisplatinum chemotherapy resulted in partial response, however, the "nodule" was a sign of poor prognosis and indicative of short-term survival. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of umbilical metastasis from a primary carcinoma of the vagina.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y N Bakri
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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