What is heterotopia in the brain?

Heterotopia means out of place. In normal brain development, neurons form in the periventricular region, located around fluid-filled cavities (ventricles) near the center of the brain. The neurons then migrate outward to form the exterior of the brain (cerebral cortex ) in six onion-like layers. What is a heterotopia in medicine?
Heterotopia is defined as a cluster of normal neurons in abnormal locations, and is divided into three main groups: periventricular nodular heterotopia, subcortical heterotopia, and band or laminar heterotopia.

Can heterotopia be cured?

Although there is no cure for X-linked periventricular heterotopia, there may be ways to manage the signs and symptoms in each individual. Seizures are typically treated with antiepileptic medications. What is a heterotopia Foucault?
Heterotopia is a concept elaborated by philosopher Michel Foucault to describe certain cultural, institutional and discursive spaces that are somehow ‘other’: disturbing, intense, incompatible, contradictory or transforming.

What is PNVH?

content highlights. Periventricular nodular heterotopia is a brain malformation of cortical development where there is abnormal clumping of grey matter (nerve cells) along the lining of the fluid-filled brain cavities called the ventricles. What causes PVNH?

The genetic forms of PVNH are caused by mutation or deletion of one of the following genes: FLNA, ARFGEF2, ERMARD and NEDD4L. In recent years new genes have been identified, however they may still need to be validated as a definite cause so we may not always list them until official sources do.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)

Is heterotopia a genetic disorder?

X-linked periventricular heterotopia or FLNA-related periventricular nodular heterotopia is a genetic disorder in which nerve cells in the brain do not migrate properly during early fetal development (a neuronal migration disorder). It is characterized by the presence of clumps of neurons near the brain’s ventricles.

Does GREY matter heterotopia get worse?

In general, gray matter heterotopia is fixed in both its occurrence and symptoms; that is, once symptoms occur, it does not tend to progress.

What are the types of heterotopia?

1st principle: Although there are many different kinds of heterotopias, Foucault distinguishes two types that are most important: – the heterotopia of crisis: sacred and forbidden places, addressing people in specific situations of crises(a type of heterotopia that, in our society, is slowly dissappearing and is …

How do you say heterotopia?

Also het·er·ot·o·py [het-uh-rot-uh-pee].

What is space according to Foucault?

Can Heterotopia cause seizures?

Periventricular heterotopia is a condition in which the nerve cells (neurons) do not migrate properly during early development of the fetal brain. People with this condition typically develop recurrent seizures ( epilepsy ) beginning in mid-adolescence.

What causes a smooth brain?

ɛnˈsɛf. əl. i/, meaning smooth brain) is a set of rare brain disorders where the whole or parts of the surface of the brain appear smooth. It is caused by defective neuronal migration during the 12th to 24th weeks of gestation resulting in a lack of development of brain folds (gyri) and grooves (sulci).

What can cause focal seizures?

Some of the possible causes of focal seizures are:

• epilepsy.
• liver or kidney failure.
• very high blood pressure.
• use of illegal drugs.
• brain infections, such as meningitis.
• brain and head injuries.
• congenital brain defects, which are brain defects that occur before birth.
• stroke.

Who used the term heterotopia?

Michel Foucault Foucault’s concept of heterotopia. Heterotopia is a concept introduced by Michel Foucault in his 1966 book Les mots et les choses to describe the manner in which defined spaces which surround the subject in social existence can reduce his autonomy and even his sense of identity.

Is an airport a heterotopia?

Although Foucault does not examine it, the airport certainly qualifies as this kind of heterotopia, both in terms of the isolation of the rites of passage of entry into and exit from the territory of the state, and in terms of the containment of deviant, mobile subjects.

What is heterotopia architecture?

More precisely, heterotopia is defined in the architectural field as a series of formal characteristics that make up a “stable essence”, a profile or a model, present or not in a built object or space. … From this stage on, space and spatiality are reconsidered, with a particular focus on the public space.

What is subcortical heterotopia?

Subcortical band heterotopia is a condition in which nerve cells (neurons) do not move (migrate) to their proper locations in the fetal brain during early development.

What is Pachygyria syndrome?

Pachygyria is a developmental condition due to abnormal migration of nerve cells (neurons) in the developing brain and nervous system.[1568] With pachygyria, there are few gyri (the ridges between the wrinkles in the brain), and they are usually broad and flat.

What is Flna mutation?

The FLNA gene mutations that cause otopalatodigital syndrome type 1 all result in changes to the filamin A protein in a region that binds to actin (known as the CH2 domain). Many of these mutations change single amino acids in the filamin A protein.

What causes nodular heterotopia?

Periventricular nodular heterotopia (PNH) is a brain malformation, due to abnormal neuronal migration, in which a subset of neurons fails to migrate into the developing cerebral cortex and remains as nodules that line the ventricular surface.

What is GREY matter Heterotopia?

The grey matter heterotopias are a relatively common group of conditions characterized by interruption of normal neuronal migration from near the ventricle to the cortex, thus resulting in normal neurons in abnormal locations ². They are a subset of disorders of cortical formation ^{3 – 4}.

What causes Polymicrogyria?

There are several known causes for polymicrogyria. The most common of which results from the virus cytomegalovirus (CMV). Other causes include various prenatal infections, brain abnormalities, genetic disorders, and more. This condition may also result from brain injury while a baby is still in the womb.

Is GREY matter Heterotopia a disability?

GMH is a neuronal migration disorder which is more common than was once thought in the time before MRI scans were regularly used. The condition most frequently presents with epilepsy but intellectual disability of varying severity is also commonly found.

Is Aicardi syndrome hereditary?

Nearly all known cases of Aicardi syndrome are sporadic, which means that they are not passed down through generations and occur in people with no history of the disorder in their family. The disorder is believed to result from new gene mutations. Aicardi syndrome is classified as an X-linked dominant condition.

Can heterotopia cause headaches?

Epilepsy in periventricular nodular heterotopia is common but headache is rare [3]. Asymmetric ventriculomegaly is a common radiological feature and is thought to be a structural consequence of the presence of heterotopia, rather than a disorder of ependymal compliance or CSF dynamics [4].