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Role of fMRI in the decision‐making process: Epilepsy surgery for children
Author(s) -
Liégeois Frédérique,
Cross J. Helen,
Gadian David G.,
Connelly Alan
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.20586
Subject(s) - epilepsy surgery , epilepsy , neuropsychology , medicine , psychology , intervention (counseling) , neuroscience , psychiatry , cognition
Abstract Functional MRI (fMRI) is increasingly being used to evaluate children and adolescents who are candidates for surgical treatment of intractable epilepsy. It has the advantage of being noninvasive and well tolerated by young people. By identifying important functional regions within the brain, including unpredictable patterns of functional reorganization, it can aid in surgical decision‐making. Here we illustrate this using a number of case studies from the pediatric epilepsy surgery program at our institution. We describe how fMRI, used in conjunction with conventional investigative methods such as neuropsychological assessment, MRI, and electrophysiology, can 1) help to improve functional outcome by enabling resective surgery that spares functional cortex, 2) guide surgical intervention by revealing when reorganization of function has occurred, and 3) show when abnormal cortex is also functionally active, and hence that surgery may not be the best option. Altogether, these roles have reduced the need for invasive procedures that can be both risky and distressing for young people with epilepsy. In our experience, fMRI has significantly contributed to the decision‐making process, and improved the counseling and management of young people with intractable epilepsy. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.