1. Multifocal epilepsy in children is associated with increased long-distance functional connectivity: An explorative EEG-fMRI study
- Author
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Friederike Moeller, Enzo Tagliazucchi, Ulrich Stephani, Jan Moehring, Michael Siniatchkin, Andreas Galka, Bianca Kroeher, Stephan Wolff, Rainer Boor, Elisabeth Steinmann, and Gisela von Ondarza
- Subjects
Male ,Adolescent ,Ciencias Físicas ,Thalamus ,CHILDREN ,EEG-fMRI ,Otras Ciencias Físicas ,050105 experimental psychology ,purl.org/becyt/ford/1 [https] ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Retrosplenial cortex ,Medicine ,Humans ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Child ,Pathological ,Default mode network ,EEG-FMRI ,Epilepsy ,business.industry ,MULTIFOCAL EPILEPSY ,05 social sciences ,Brain ,West Syndrome ,Electroencephalography ,General Medicine ,FUNCTIONAL CONNECTIVITY ,purl.org/becyt/ford/1.3 [https] ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,humanities ,Epilepsy in children ,DEFAULT-MODE NETWORK ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Female ,Neurology (clinical) ,Brainstem ,business ,Neuroscience ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,CIENCIAS NATURALES Y EXACTAS - Abstract
Objective: Multifocal epileptic activity is an unfavourable feature of a number of epileptic syndromes (Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, West syndrome, severe focal epilepsies) which suggests an overall vulnerability of the brain to pathological synchronization. However, the mechanisms of multifocal activity are insufficiently understood. This explorative study investigates whether pathological connectivity within brain areas of the default mode network as well as thalamus, brainstem and retrosplenial cortex may predispose individuals to multifocal epileptic activity. Methods: 33 children suffering from multifocal and monofocal (control group) epilepsies were investigated using EEG-fMRI recordings during sleep. The blood oxygenated level dependent (BOLD) signal of 15 regions of interest was extracted and temporally correlated (resting-state functional connectivity). Results: Patients with monofocal epilepsies were characterized by strong correlations between the corresponding interhemispheric homotopic regions. This pattern of correlations with pronounced short-distance and weak long-distance functional connectivity resembles the connectivity pattern described for healthy children. Patients with multifocal epileptic activity, however, demonstrated significantly stronger correlations between a large number of regions of the default mode network as well as thalamus and brainstem, with a significant increase in long-distance connectivity compared to children with monofocal epileptic activity. In the group of patients with multifocal epilepsies there were no differences in functional connectivity between patients with or without Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Conclusion: This explorative study shows that multifocal activity is associated with generally increased long-distance functional connectivity in the brain. It can be suggested that this pronounced connectivity may represent either a risk to pathological over-synchronization or a consequence of the multifocal epileptic activity. Fil: Siniatchkin, Michael. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel; Alemania Fil: Moehring, Jan. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel; Alemania Fil: Kroeher, Bianca. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel; Alemania Fil: Galka, Andreas. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel; Alemania Fil: Ondarza, Gisela von. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel; Alemania Fil: Moeller, Friederike. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel; Alemania Fil: Wolff, Stephan. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel; Alemania Fil: Tagliazucchi, Enzo Rodolfo. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel; Alemania. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Steinmann, Elisabeth. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel; Alemania Fil: Boor, Rainer. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel; Alemania Fil: Stephani, Ulrich. Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel; Alemania
- Published
- 2018