The Neurobiology Monitoring Center of West China Hospital, Sichuan University was established in April 2009. It is an important department that provides assistant diagnoses for related diseases in neurology, neurosurgery, respiratory, cardiology, ENT, psychiatry, endocrinology，with a total staff of 1 professor, 4 associate professors, 1 laboratorian, 1 chief physician, 8 supervising technicians, 1 research assistant, and 1 secretary. Prof. Tang Xiangdong, the director of the center, is currently the Vice-chairman of the China Sleep Research Society and the National Association of Sleep Medicine of China. He also serves as the associate editor of BMC Psychiatry and a member of the editorial boards for Sleep Medicine Reviews, Sleep and Breathing, and Journal of Psychosomatic Research. The center is equipped with international advanced testing devices and systematical network. The testing methods and diagnostic level hold a leading position among other counterparts in China.
The Neurobiology Monitoring Center has nine testing units, including Sleep Medicine Center, electromyography unit, electroencephalogram unit, electrocardiogram unit, transcranial stimulation therapy unit, transcranial Doppler unit, evoked potential unit, autonomic nervous function test unit, and psychological test unit. The annual outpatient visits have exceeded 80,000 since 2009.
Sleep Medicine Center: The center has 16 standard polysomnography examination rooms and 6 portable sleep examination devices. The construction of sleep lab, diagnostic methods, standards and procedures are all according to the current operational mode in European countries and U.S.A.. It is a clinical platform for the examination and treatment of common sleep disorders, such as primary snoring, sleep apnea, insomnia, sleepiness, dreaminess, circadian rhythm sleep disorders, sleep-related movement disorders, rapid eye movement sleep disorders and narcolepsy. The diagnostic and treatment examinations including: 1) Overnight polysomnography, multiple sleep latency test, maintenance wakefulness test and other 10 routine examinations; 2) continuous positive airway pressure therapy and plasma radiofrequency ablation surgery for obstructive sleep apnea; 3) cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, anesthesia treatment, drug sensitivity screening and so on.
Electromyography Unit: Electromyography is to record the electric activity of muscle in stationary or contract condition through electronic instrument, and electrical stimulation is also applied to exam the function of nerve, muscle excitation and conduction. The examination can test the function of peripheral nerve, neuron, neuromuscular junction and muscle itself.
Electroencephalogram Unit: Electroencephalogram is used to record the brain activity. It is used to diagnose brain disease through the examination of intracranial organic lesions, such as epilepsy, encephalitis, cerebrovascular disease, intracranial space-occupying lesion and so on, this is also accompanied with the symptoms, signs and other auxiliary examination results of the patients.
Electrocardiogram Unit: Electrocardiogram is used to record the cardiac electrical activity of human body. It is used to diagnose arrhythmia, cardiac enlargement or hypertrophy, myocardial infarction, myocardial ischemia, etc.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy Unit: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) therapy is widely used in neurology, psychiatry and rehabilitative physiotherapy. It has significant treatment effect on spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, ischemic stroke, schizophrenia (negative symptoms), depression disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, mania, post-traumatic stress disorder, rehabilitation of cranial injury, stroke and peripheral nerve. It is an important auxiliary method in non-invasive treatment and rehabilitation field.
Transcranial Doppler Unit: Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is used to comprehensively evaluate the condition of blood vessel in the brain, to detect the location and severity of blood vessel stenosis, and to understand the collateral circulation. It can provide reference information on the diagnosis, monitor and treatment of cerebrovascular disease, and can also analyze the factors that influence the hemodynamic changes in the brain.
Evoked Potential Unit: The testing principle for evoked potential is to measure the bioelectrical response with relatively fixed time interval and specific phase through a specific stimulus to the nervous system or makes the patient do a specific action to stimulus (such as pressing a button when hearing a noise). These examinations can detect sensory and motor pathways integrity and the related-injury around the pathways through the test for function of afferent nerve or efferent nerve pathway. Evoked potential is useful for the localization of central nervous system disease.
Autonomic Nervous Function Test Unit: Autonomic nervous function test unit including the evaluation of sympathetic and parasympathetic function, such as sympathetic hyperactivity, parasympathetic hyperactivity, sympathetic dysfunction and so on. It also includes the measurement of blood pressure in sitting, lying and standing positions. In addition, Neuropsychological test is also belonged to autonomic nervous function test unit, including evaluation of IQ, memory, cognition function, anxiety and depression.
Psychological Test Unit: Psychological test unit is to evaluate intelligence, cognition function, memory, mood disorder, personality, sub-health status through different kinds of questionnaires. The commonly used questionnaires include: self-reported depression/anxiety questionnaire, personality test questionnaire, sub-health status questionnaire, stress-related questionnaire, marriage, family and life satisfaction evaluation questionnaire, personal aptitude questionnaire, and occupational interest questionnaire. Besides, the unit also conducts related assessment for intelligence, attention, mood disorders, behaviors disorders, learning disorders among children and adolescent.
