Regional and global resting-state functional MR connectivity in temporal lobe epilepsy: Results from the Epilepsy Connectome Project

Epilepsy Behav. 2021 Feb 18;117:107841. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2021.107841. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTTemporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) has been conceptualized as focal disease with a discrete neurobiological focus and can respond well to targeted resection or ablation. In contrast, the neuro-cognitive deficits resulting from TLE can be widespread involving regions beyond the primary epileptic network. We hypothesize that this seemingly paradoxical findings can be explained by differences in connectivity between the primary epileptic region which is hyper-connected and its secondary influence on global connectome organization. This hypothesis is tested using regional and global graph theory metrics where we anticipate that regional mesial-temporal hyperconnectivity will be found and correlate with seizure frequency while global networks will be disorganized and be more closely associated with neuro-cognitive deficits. Resting-state fMRI was used to examine temporal lobe regional connectivity and global functional connectivity from 102 patients with TLE and 55 controls. Connectivity matrices were calculated for subcortical volumes and cortical parcellations. Graph theory metrics (global clustering coefficient (GCC), degree, closeness) were compared between groups and in relation to neuropsychological profiles and disease covariates using permutation testing and causal analysis. In TLE there was a decrease in GCC (p = 0.0345) associated with a worse neuropsychological profile (p =...

Source: Epilepsy and Behaviour - February 21, 2021 Category: Neurology Authors: Aaron F Struck Melanie Boly Gyujoon Hwang Veena Nair Jedidiah Mathis Andrew Nencka Lisa L Conant Edgar A DeYoe Manoj Ragahavan Vivek Prabhakaran Jeffrey R Binder Mary E Meyerand Bruce P Hermann Source Type: research