Structural and functional changes following brain surgery in pediatric patients with intracranial space-occupying lesions

AbstractWe explored the structural and functional changes of the healthy hemisphere of the brain after surgery in children with intracranial space-occupying lesions. We enrolled 32 patients with unilateral intracranial space-occupying lesions for brain imaging and cognitive assessment. Voxel-based morphometry and surface-based morphometry analyses were used to investigate the structural images of the healthy hemisphere. Functional images were analyzed using regional homogeneity, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations, and fractional-amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations. Voxel-based morphometry and surface-based morphometry analysis used the statistical model built into the CAT 12 toolbox. Paired t-tests were used for functional image and cognitive test scores. For structural image analysis, we used family-wise error correction of peak level (p  <  0.05), and for functional image analysis, we use Gaussian random-field theory correction (voxel p <  0.001, cluster p <  0.05). We found an increase in gray matter volume in the healthy hemisphere within six months postoperatively, mainly in the frontal lobe. Regional homogeneity and fractional-amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations also showed greater functional activity in the frontal lobe. The results of cognit ive tests showed that psychomotor speed and motor speed decreased significantly after surgery, and reasoning increased significantly after surgery. We concluded that in children with intracranial ...
Source: Brain Imaging and Behavior - Category: Neurology Source Type: research