Impaired consciousness in patients with absence seizures investigated by functional MRI, EEG, and behavioural measures: a cross-sectional study

Publication date: December 2016 Source:The Lancet Neurology, Volume 15, Issue 13 Author(s): Jennifer N Guo, Robert Kim, Yu Chen, Michiro Negishi, Stephen Jhun, Sarah Weiss, Jun Hwan Ryu, Xiaoxiao Bai, Wendy Xiao, Erin Feeney, Jorge Rodriguez-Fernandez, Hetal Mistry, Vincenzo Crunelli, Michael J Crowley, Linda C Mayes, R Todd Constable, Hal Blumenfeld Background The neural underpinnings of impaired consciousness and of the variable severity of behavioural deficits from one absence seizure to the next are not well understood. We aimed to measure functional MRI (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) changes in absence seizures with impaired task performance compared with seizures in which performance was spared. Methods In this cross-sectional study done at the Yale School of Medicine, CT, USA, we recruited patients from 59 paediatric neurology practices in the USA. We did simultaneous EEG, fMRI, and behavioural testing in patients aged 6–19 years with childhood or juvenile absence epilepsy, and with an EEG with typical 3–4 Hz bilateral spike-wave discharges and normal background. The main outcomes were fMRI and EEG amplitudes in seizures with impaired versus spared behavioural responses analysed by t test. We also examined the timing of fMRI and EEG changes in seizures with impaired behavioural responses compared with seizures with spared responses. Findings 93 patients were enrolled between Jan 1, 2005, and Sept 1, 2013; we recorded 1032 seizures in 3...
Source: The Lancet Neurology - Category: Neurology Source Type: research