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A narrow upper Paleozoic belt crops out in the northern tip of Sierra de Tecka through the Quebrada de Güera-Peña (Patagonia, Argentina). There, black shales of the Pampa de Tepuel Formation contain marine fossil invertebrates previously listed as belonging to the “Levipustula” fauna. Material recently recorded by the authors comprises, in order of abundance, gastropods [Glabrocingulum (Glabrocingulum) poperimense (Maxwell), G. (Stenozone) argentinum (Reed), G. (Stenozone) sp., Peruvispira teckaensis sp. nov., Ananias riccardii Pinilla], bivalves [Nuculopsis (Nuculopsis) patagoniensis González, Phestia tepuelensis González, Streblochondria sueroi González, Streblopteria sp.], conulariids [Paraconularia cf. ugartei Cúneo and Sabattini], brachiopods [Amosia sueroi Simanauskas, Languigneotus laevicaudatum (Amos), Beecheria patagonica Amos], trilobites [Australosutura argentinensis Hahn and Hahn], cephalopods [Pseudoorthoceratidae Flower and Caster, Sueroceras? sp., Mitorthoceras? sp.], and rugose corals [?Lophophyllidiidae Moore and Jeffords]. In addition, the present study includes the new key brachiopods Languigneotus dammanorum gen. et sp. nov. and Tuberculatella waterhousei sp. nov. from younger localities of the Tepuel-Genoa Basin. The Languigneotus laevicaudatum and Languigneotus-Verchojania subzones (late Pennsylvanian) are proposed herein to replace the former Tuberculatella Zone. In addition, previous stratigraphic relationships and correlations of the study section with the Arroyo Pescado (Estancia Ap Iwan) and Esquel areas are discussed. The general stratigraphic profile of a glacial-related section cropping out at Estancia Ap Iwan includes lower conglomeradic beds, which are reinterpreted as early Jurassic in age, and glacimarine levels that are partially equivalent to the Pampa de Tepuel Formation but older than those of Quebrada de Güera-Peña. A correlation of the Esquel Formation with the Arroyo Pescado Formation and other contemporaneous units on the paleopacific margin is assessed, implying that the Esquel Formation should be segregated from the Tepuel Group. The Esquel and Arroyo Pescado formations can be regarded as the basement of the glaciomarine column of the Tepuel-Genoa Basin.

A narrow upper Paleozoic belt crops out in the northern tip of Sierra de Tecka through the Quebrada de Güera-Peña (Patagonia, Argentina). There, black shales of the Pampa de Tepuel Formation contain marine fossil invertebrates previously listed as belonging to the “Levipustula” fauna. Material recently recorded by the authors comprises, in order of abundance, gastropods [Glabrocingulum (Glabrocingulum) poperimense (Maxwell), G. (Stenozone) argentinum (Reed), G. (Stenozone) sp., Peruvispira teckaensis sp. nov., Ananias riccardii Pinilla], bivalves [Nuculopsis (Nuculopsis) patagoniensis González, Phestia tepuelensis González, Streblochondria sueroi González, Streblopteria sp.], conulariids [Paraconularia cf. ugartei Cúneo and Sabattini], brachiopods [Amosia sueroi Simanauskas, Languigneotus laevicaudatum (Amos), Beecheria patagonica Amos], trilobites [Australosutura argentinensis Hahn and Hahn], cephalopods [Pseudoorthoceratidae Flower and Caster, Sueroceras? sp., Mitorthoceras? sp.], and rugose corals [?Lophophyllidiidae Moore and Jeffords]. In addition, the present study includes the new key brachiopods Languigneotus dammanorum gen. et sp. nov. and Tuberculatella waterhousei sp. nov. from younger localities of the Tepuel-Genoa Basin. The Languigneotus laevicaudatum and Languigneotus-Verchojania subzones (late Pennsylvanian) are proposed herein to replace the former Tuberculatella Zone. In addition, previous stratigraphic relationships and correlations of the study section with the Arroyo Pescado (Estancia Ap Iwan) and Esquel areas are discussed. The general stratigraphic profile of a glacial-related section cropping out at Estancia Ap Iwan includes lower conglomeradic beds, which are reinterpreted as early Jurassic in age, and glacimarine levels that are partially equivalent to the Pampa de Tepuel Formation but older than those of Quebrada de Güera-Peña. A correlation of the Esquel Formation with the Arroyo Pescado Formation and other contemporaneous units on the paleopacific margin is assessed, implying that the Esquel Formation should be segregated from the Tepuel Group. The Esquel and Arroyo Pescado formations can be regarded as the basement of the glaciomarine column of the Tepuel-Genoa Basin. RESUMEN Una estrecha faja neopaleozoica aflora atravesando el extremo norte de la Sierra de Tecka a lo largo de la Quebrada de Güera-Peña (Patagonia, Argentina). Alli, lutitas negras de la Formación Pampa de Tepuel contienen invertebrados marinos previamente asignados a la fauna de “Levipustula”. Nuevo material coleccionado por los autores incluye, en orden de abundancia, gastrópodos [Glabrocingulum (Glabrocingulum) poperimense (Maxwell), G. (Stenozone) argentinum (Reed), G. (Stenozone) sp., Peruvispira teckaensis sp. nov., Ananias riccardii Pinilla], bivalvos [Nuculopsis (Nuculopsis) patagoniensis González, Phestia tepuelensis González, Streblochondria sueroi González, Streblopteria sp.], conuláridos [Paraconularia cf. ugartei Cúneo y Sabattini], braquiópodos [Amosia sueroi Simanauskas, Languigneotus laevicaudatum (Amos), Beecheria patagonica Amos], trilobites [Australosutura argentinensis Hahn y Hahn], cefalópodos [Pseudoorthoceratidae Flower y Caster, Sueroceras? sp., Mitorthoceras? sp.] y corales rugosos [?Lophophyllidiidae Moore y Jeffords]. El presente estudio incluye además los nuevos braquiópodos clave Languigneotus dammanorum gen. et sp. nov. y Tuberculatella waterhousei sp. nov. provenientes de otras localidades más jóvenes de la cuenca. Se proponen formalmente las subzonas de Languigneotus laevicaudatum y de Languigneotus-Verchojania, en reemplazo de la anteriormente equivalente Zona de Tuberculatella. Se discuten las relaciones estratigráficas y correlaciones previamente propuestas para la sección estudiada en relación a las áreas de Arroyo Pescado (Estancia Ap Iwan) y Esquel. El perfil estratigráfico general de la sección con influencia glacial aflorante en la Estancia Ap Iwan incluye una parte inferior con conglomerados que son reasignados al Jurásico inferior, y tramos superiores que son parcialmente equivalentes a la Formación Pampa de Tepuel pero más antiguos que los aflorantes en la Quebrada de Güera Peña. Por otro lado, se refuerza la correlación de la Formación Arroyo Pescado con la Formación Esquel, así como con otras unidades contemporáneas reconocidas hacia el oeste, sobre el margen paleopacífico. La correlación de las formaciones Esquel y Arroyo Pescado implica segregar la primera del Grupo Tepuel, así como considerar a las mismas como basamento de la columna estratigráfica de la Cuenca de Tepuel-Genoa.

Background and objective. Idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) often precedes Parkinson's Disease (PD) and other alpha-synucleinopathies. The aim of the study is to investigate brain glucose metabolism of patients with RBD and PD by means of a multidimensional scaling approach, using18F-FDG-PET as a biomarker of synaptic function. Methods. Thirty-six iRBD patients (64.1±6.5 y, 32 M), 72 PD patients and 79 controls (65.6±9.4 y, 53 M) underwent brain 18F-FDG-PET. PD patients were divided according to the absence (PD, 32 subjects; 68.4±8.5 y, 15 M) or presence (PDRBD, 40 subjects; 71.8±6.6 y, 29 M) of RBD. 18F-FDG-PET scans were used to independently discriminate subjects belonging to four categories: controls (RBD no, PD no), iRBD (RBD yes, PD no), PD (RBD no, PD yes) and PDRBD (RBD yes, PD yes). Results. The discriminant analysis was moderately accurate in identifying the correct category. This is because the model mostly confounds iRBD and PD, thus the intermediate classes. Indeed, iRBD, PD and PDRBD were progressively located at increasing distance from controls and are ordered along a single dimension (principal coordinate analysis) indicating the presence of a single flux of variation encompassing both RBD and PD conditions. Conclusion. Data-driven approach to brain 18F-FDG-PET showed only moderate discrimination between iRBD and PD patients, highlighting brain glucose metabolism heterogeneity among such patients. iRBD should be considered as a marker of an ongoing condition that may be picked-up in different stages across patients and thus express different brain imaging features and likely different clinical trajectories.

Traumatic events damage the mental and emotional processes and affect brain physiology. According to the DSM V (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may present with the following: oNegative alterations in cognitions and mood oSymptoms of irritability and outbursts of anger oRe-experiencing of the traumatic event oSelf-destructive behavior oHypervigilance oAlarm response exaggerated oTrouble concentrating oFalling asleep or staying awake In recent years, many researchers focused on trauma and its symptoms obtaining important results concerning the understanding of traumatic memory, and how it affects the brain and human behavior. Through neuroimaging techniques such as Positron Emission Tomography, (PET); Single Photon Emission Tomography (SPECT); Electroencephalography (EEG); functional and structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI, MRI) it has been possible to identify the brain circuits involved in the pathophysiology of PTSD. Changes in metabolism, brain morphology and networking have been found in the amygdala, the medial Pre-Frontal Cortex (mPFC) and the hippocampus (Shin et al., 2006; Yehuda and LeDoux, 2007; Wager et al., 2007; Martin et al., 2009), which together form the so-called Neural Model of PTSD (Shin et al., 2006).

Le neuroscienze hanno oggi a disposizione strumenti estremamente sofisticati per ottenere immagini anatomiche e funzionali che contribuiscano sia alla comprensione dei fenomeni che determinano le varie patologie, sia a monitorare l'effi cacia dei trattamenti farmacologici e psicoterapeutici. L'obiettivo di questo volume è riunire le competenze di differenti autori, al fine di produrre una sintesi dei risultati principali della letteratura scientifica, concentrando l'attenzione sulle patologie che interessano prevalentemente il sistema limbico. Partendo da una descrizione anatomica e funzionale e da una sintesi delle metodologie di neuroimmagini utilizzate per indagare questa regione cerebrale, il lettore verrà guidato a una disamina dei correlati neurobiologici sottostanti i principali disturbi psichiatrici (DPTS, Depressione Maggiore e Materna, Disturbi bipolare, dissociativo, del comportamento alimentare e dell'attaccamento) e degli effetti a livello neurofisiologico delle psicoterapie maggiormente impiegate per il trattamento di questi disturbi (Mindfulness, EMDR, CBT, Psicoterapia Psicodinamica).

In questo capitolo vengono illustrate le alterazioni funzionali ed anatomiche che si riscontrano in pazienti con il disturbo post-traumatico da stress (DPTS) e gli effetti su di esse delle varie psicoterapie. La maggior parte di questi studi sono stati effettuati nel corso delle ultime 3 decadi con tecniche avanzate di neuroimmagini e hanno contribuito in maniera determinante a descrivere il modello delle variazioni neurobiologiche che sottendono il DPTS. Questo modello è stato recentemente confermato e integrato da alcuni studi che hanno utilizzato l'EEG per registrare in tempo reale le variazioni dell'attività cerebrale durante l'esecuzione dell'EMDR, uno dei trattamenti psicoterapici focalizzati a risolvere una condizione post-traumatica in atto. L'importanza degli studi che descrivono l'effetto neurobiologico delle psicoterapie, a parte la componente anatomo-funzionale di per sé, essenziale per identificare le regioni cerebrali colpite e la natura del danno, risiede nella conferma che anche interventi che non implichino la somministrazione di farmaci modificano e normalizzano gli squilibri organici dell'omeostasi del sistema nervoso centrale che causano i sintomi delle patologie psichiatriche. Queste nuove conoscenze dovrebbero agire da volano per gli operatori del settore, psicologi e psichiatri in primis, per i quali le implicazioni e le conseguenze funzionali dei propri interventi terapeutici dovrebbero aumentare la consapevolezza e le motivazioni del proprio agire. Viene anche presentato e discusso il modello anatomo-funzionale implicato nella resilienza al trauma insieme ai suoi corrispettivi neurobiologici.

Purpose of review Neuroimaging with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) has become a well-established technical tool for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This review summarizes current developments in the advanced neuroimaging assessment of ALS and explores their potential in a clinical and neuroscientific setting. Recent findings With a focus on diffusion-weighted imaging, MRI-based neuroimaging has shown to provide reliable measures of the alterations in the brains of ALS patients for monitoring of disease progression and should be included in the clinical work-up of ALS. There have been efforts to improve the clinical utility of FDG-PET, and multivariate analysis has made advances in discriminating patients from controls and for prognostic assessment. Beyond FDG-PET, promising investigations have been carried out implementing novel radiotracers. Summary MRI and PET studies in ALS have consistently shown patterns of functional and structural changes considered to be the pathological signature of the disease. The constant advance of neuroimaging techniques encourages to investigate the cascade of ALS neurodegeneration and symptoms at finer and more specific level. Multicenter studies and the implementation of novel methodologies might confer a pivotal role to neuroimaging in the clinical setting in the near future, accelerating ALS diagnosis and allowing a prompt prognosis about disease progression.

L'EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) è un approccio psicoterapico integrativo descritto per la prima volta da Francine Shapiro nel 1989 (Shapiro, 1989) e successivamente sviluppato negli anni '90. Inizialmente utilizzato per il trattamento di traumi psicologici, l'EMDR viene oggi utilizzato per affrontare una vasta gamma di disturbi psicopatologici che seguono esperienze di vita avverse (malattie, lutti, abusi, etc.) anche in comorbidità con depressione, abuso di sostanze, malattie oncologiche e disturbi alimentari. Il modello teorico dell'elaborazione delle informazioni adattive (AIP), che guida le procedure che caratterizzano l'EMDR (AIP, Shapiro, 2001), postula che gli effetti disturbanti che si verificano in seguito ad un trauma psicologico, causano una mancata sistematizzazione e memorizzazione nei network neuronali delle immagini, pensieri, emozioni e sensazioni associate all'evento che lo ha causato disregolando il sistema innato di elaborazione delle informazioni. In virtù di questo, informazioni non integrate sono più facilmente riattivate da stimoli che richiamano l'evento traumatico iniziale e possono dare origine a risposte di tipo emotivo, cognitivo e somatico. L'obiettivo delle terapie che utilizzano l'EMDR è di accedere a queste esperienze memorizzate in modo disfunzionale e di facilitare l'integrazione delle memorie traumatiche, stimolando i processi neurali naturali del consolidamento della memoria (Shapiro, 2012). L'efficacia clinica della terapia EMDR per il trattamento dei sintomi da DPTS (Disturbo Post-Traumatico da Stress) negli adulti, è stata ampiamente documentata in circa 30 studi randomizzati controllati e le linee guida di diverse organizzazioni internazionali la raccomandano come trattamento d'elezione in caso di traumi psicologici (American Psychiatric Association, 2004; Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Defense 2017; National Collaborating Center for Mental Health, 2005). La ricerca focalizzata sull'EMDR è cresciuta esponenzialmente negli ultimi anni e le tecniche di neuroimaging si sono dimostrate un potente strumento d'indagine per esplorarne i correlati neurobiologici. Ad esempio, l'impatto dell'EMDR sulle regioni cerebrali corticali e sub-corticali, coinvolte nel disturbo da DPTS, è stato dimostrato da diversi studi che attestano una chiara associazione tra la scomparsa dei sintomi e la normalizzazione delle variazioni funzionali. In questo ambito sono state utilizzate sia metodologie che permettono di confrontare lo stato neurobiologico pre e post-trattamento sia tecniche che consentono di monitorare l'attivazione corticale durante le sessioni EMDR. I recenti avanzamenti nel campo della ricerca sulla terapia EMDR, hanno inoltre postulato alcuni possibili meccanismi d'azione che facilitano l'elaborazione di memorie traumatiche patologiche.

La comprensione dei meccanismi che regolano il funzionamento del cervello a livello neurofisiologico, neuropatologico e quindi clinico non può prescindere dalla conoscenza della sua anatomia microscopica e di quella macroscopica, dai neurotrasmettitori e neurorecettori che regolano l'impulso nervoso da neurone a neurone e dalla anatomia e fisiologia degli stessi neuroni che rappresentano la componente principale del sistema nervoso centrale. In questa prima parte di capitolo descriveremo inoltre brevemente anatomia e funzioni delle aree in cui è segmentato il sistema nervoso centrale con particolare enfasi sulle strutture del sistema limbico, un insieme di strutture centrali nella fisiopatologia della maggioranza dei disturbi psicologici e psichiatrici. Nella seconda parte faremo una rapida carrellata sulle metodologie di indagine per neuroimmagini che vengono attualmente utilizzate per indagare i fenomeni che si verificano nel sistema nervoso centrale in condizioni sia fisiologiche sia patologiche. Queste tecniche di indagine neuroanatomica e neurofunzionale hanno permesso nelle ultime decadi di compiere notevolissimi passi in avanti nella comprensione della fisiopatologia di quasi tutti i disordini mentali e come vedremo in altri capitoli hanno consentito di valutare l'impatto delle varie psicoterapie sulle modificazioni neurobiologhe che li sottendono.

and war-torn countries to Europe, there is an urgent need for effective interventions for the treatment of this highly traumatized population. EMDR Integrative Group Treatment Protocol (EMDR-IGTP) was provided to 14 child refugees (7 females) in 2016 at a Turkey orphanage near the Syrian border which was housing adult and child Syrian refugees. Treatment was provided in three groups, one each for children aged 3-7 years, pre-adolescents aged 9-12, and adolescents aged 13-18 with three sessions provided to each group. Pre-treatment assessment with multiple measures was compromised by difficulties with translator availability and refugee mobility, resulting in high attrition. When the post-treatment assessment was conducted 45 days later, many refugees had already left the orphanage. The sparse character of the data matrix produced analyzable data for 8 children (mean age 11 ± 3; 4 females) on the Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES). Statistical analysis showed a significant decrease in CRIES scores, reflecting a decrease in severity of posttraumatic symptoms.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most common invasive types of cancer among women, with important consequences on both physical and psychological functioning. Patients with BC have a great risk of developing Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but only few studies have evaluated the efficacy of psychological interventions to treat it. Furthermore, no neuroimaging studies have evaluated the neurobiological effects of psychotherapeutic treatment for BC-related PTSD. Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) as compared to Treatment as Usual (TAU) in BC patients with PTSD, also identifying by EEG the neurophysiological changes underlying treatments effect and their correlation with clinical symptoms. Method: Thirty patients with BC and PTSD diagnosis were included, receiving either EMDR (n=15) or TAU (n=15). Patients were assessed before and after treatments with clinical questionnaires and Electroencephalography (EEG). The proportion of patients who no longer meet criteria for PTSD after the intervention and changes in clinical scores, both between and within groups, were evaluated. Two-sample permutation t-tests among EEG channels were performed to investigate differences in Power Spectrum Density between groups. Pearson correlation analysis was carried out between power bands and clinical scores. Results: At post-treatment, all patients treated with EMDR no longer met criteria for PTSD, while all patients treated with TAU maintained the diagnosis. A significant decrease in depressive symptoms was found only in the EMDR group, while anxiety remained stable in all patients. EEG results corroborated these findings, showing significant differences in delta and theta bands in left angular and right fusiform gyri only in the EMDR group. Conclusions: It is essential to detect PTSD symptoms also in patients with BC, in order to offer proper interventions. The efficacy of EMDR therapy in reducing cancer-related PTSD is supported by both clinical and neurobiological findings.

Over the last years convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have shown remarkable results in different image classification tasks, including medical imaging. One area that has been less explored with CNNs is Positron Emission Tomography (PET). FDG-PET is a PET technique employed to obtain a representation of brain metabolic function. In this study we employed 3D CNNs in fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)brain images with the purpose of discriminating patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD) from controls. We employed Scaled Subprofile Modeling using Principal Component Analysis as a preprocessing step to focus on specific brain regions and limit the number of voxels that are used as input for the CNNs, thereby increasing the signal-to-noise ratio in our data. We performed hyper-parameter optimization on three CNN architectures to estimate the classification accuracy of the networks on new data. The best performance that we obtained was accuracy=0.86, and area under the receiver operating characteristiccurve (AUC)= 0.94 on the test set. We believe that, with larger datasets, PD patients could be reliably distinguished from controls by FDG-PET scans alone and that this technique could be applied to more clinically challenging tasks, like the differential diagnosis of neurological disorders with similar symptoms, such as PD, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA).

Earth system sensitivity (ESS) is the long-term (>103 yr) equilibrium temperature response to doubled CO2. ESS has climate policy implications because global temperatures are not expected to decline appreciably for at least 103 yr, even if anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions drop to zero. We report quantitative ESS estimates of 3 °C or higher for much of the Cretaceous and early Paleogene based on paleo-reconstructions of CO2 and temperature. These estimates are generally higher than climate sensitivities simulated from global climate models for the same ancient periods (~3 °C). We conclude that climate models do not capture the full suite of positive climate feedbacks during greenhouse worlds. These absent feedbacks are probably related to clouds, trace greenhouse gases, seasonal snow cover, and/or vegetation, especially in polar regions. Continued warming in the coming decades as anthropogenic greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere ensures that characterizing and quantifying these positive climate feedbacks will become a scientific challenge of increasing priority.

Rationale: Idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is considered a prodromal stage of Parkinson's disease (PD) and other Lewy-body disorders. Spatial covariance analysis of [18F]-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (18F-FDG-PET) data has disclosed a specific brain pattern of altered glucose metabolism in PD. In this study, we identify the metabolic pattern underlying iRBD and compare it to the known PD pattern. To understand the relevance of the iRBD pattern to disease progression, we study the expression of the iRBD pattern in de novo PD patients.Methods:The iRBD-related pattern was identified in18F-FDG-PET scans of 21 patients with polysomnographically-confirmed iRBD and 19 controls using spatial covariance analysis. Expression of the iRBD-related pattern was subsequently computed in18F-FDG-PET scans of 44 controls and 38 de novo, treatment-naïve PD patients. Of these 38 PD patients, 24 had probable RBD according to the Mayo Sleep Questionnaire. Neuropsychological evaluation showed mild cognitive impairment in 20 PD patients (PD-MCI), of whom sixteen also had concomitant RBD and roughly half (11/20) had bilateral motor symptoms.Results:The iRBD-related pattern was characterized by relative hypermetabolism in cerebellum, brainstem, thalamus, sensorimotor cortex, and hippocampus, and by relative hypometabolism in middle cingulate, temporal, occipital and parietal cortices. This topography partially overlapped with the PD-related pattern (PDRP). The iRBD-related pattern was significantly expressed in PD patients compared to controls (P

Aim: To evaluate the incremental value of FDG-PET over clinical tests in: (i) diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); (ii) picking early signs of neurodegeneration in patients with a genetic risk of Huntington's disease (HD); and detecting metabolic changes related to cognitive impairment in (iii) ALS and (iv) HD patients. Methods: Four comprehensive literature searches were conducted using the PICO model to extract evidence from relevant studies. An expert panel then voted using the Delphi method on these four diagnostic scenarios. Results: The availability of evidence was good for FDG-PET utility to support the diagnosis of ALS, poor for identifying presymptomatic subjects carrying HD mutation who will convert to HD, and lacking for identifying cognitive-related metabolic changes in both ALS and HD. After the Delphi consensual procedure, the panel did not support the clinical use of FDG-PET for any of the four scenarios. Conclusion: Relative to other neurodegenerative diseases, the clinical use of FDG-PET in ALS and HD is still in its infancy. Once validated by disease-control studies, FDG-PET might represent a potentially useful biomarker for ALS diagnosis. FDG-PET is presently not justified as a routine investigation to predict conversion to HD, nor to detect evidence of brain dysfunction justifying cognitive decline in ALS and HD

EMDR is now considered as an elective treatment for PTSD and its efficacy is being proved in several other psychological conditions. Nevertheless, the EMDR underlying mechanisms of action have not yet been fully clarified. At the moment being, different theories have been proposed, such as the orienting response and the working memory hypothesis, which have been supported by various clinical and neurophysiological researches. This paper discusses a hypothesis which focuses on the similarity between the typical EMDR Eye Movements and delta and beta waves occurring during the Slow Wave Sleep. SWS appears to have a key role in memory consolidation and in the reorganization of distant functional networks, as well as Eye Movements seems to lead to a weakening of traumatic episodic memory and a reconsolidation of new associated information. SWS hypothesis may represent another important step toward the understanding on how EMDR works.