fMRI study of cannabidiol-induced changes in attention control in treatment-resistant epilepsy

Publication date: July 2019Source: Epilepsy & Behavior, Volume 96Author(s): Jane B. Allendorfer, Rodolphe Nenert, E. Martina Bebin, Tyler E. Gaston, Leslie E. Grayson, Kathleen A. Hernando, James T. Houston, Barbara Hansen, Jerzy P. SzaflarskiAbstractPatients with treatment-resistant epilepsy (TRE) frequently exhibit memory and attention deficits that contribute to their poor personal and societal outcomes. We studied the effects of adjunct treatment with pharmaceutical grade cannabidiol (CBD) oral solution (Epidiolex®; Greenwich Biosciences, Inc.) on attention control processes related to stimulus conflict resolution in patients with TRE. Twenty-two patients with TRE underwent 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) before receiving (PRE) and after achieving a stable dose of CBD (ON). Functional MRI (fMRI) data were collected while patients performed 2 runs of a flanker task (FT). Patients were instructed to indicate via button press the congruent (CON) and incongruent (INC) conditions. We performed t-tests to examine with FT attention control processes at PRE and ON visits and to compare the 2 visits using derived general linear model (GLM) data (INC – CON). We performed generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analyses to assess changes in condition-based functional connectivity on FT. Median time between fMRI visits was 10 weeks, and median CBD dose at follow-up was 25 mg/kg/d. From PRE to ON, participants experienced improvements in seizure frequency (SF)...
Source: Epilepsy and Behavior - Category: Neurology Source Type: research