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Disrupted intrinsic and remote functional connectivity in heterotopia‐related epilepsy
Author(s) -
Liu W.,
Hu X.,
An D.,
Gong Q.,
Zhou D.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/ane.12831
Subject(s) - ventromedial prefrontal cortex , parahippocampal gyrus , epilepsy , precuneus , supramarginal gyrus , default mode network , neuroscience , posterior cingulate , lingual gyrus , gyrus , superior temporal gyrus , medicine , psychology , middle temporal gyrus , neuroimaging , prefrontal cortex , temporal lobe , functional connectivity , functional magnetic resonance imaging , cognition
Objectives Several neuroimaging studies have examined neural interactions in patients with periventricular nodular heterotopia (PNH). However, features of the underlying functional network remain poorly understood. In this study, we examined alterations in the local (regional) and remote (interregional) cerebral networks in this disorder. Methods Twenty‐eight subjects all having suffered from PNH with epilepsy, as well as 28 age‐ and sex‐ matched healthy controls, were enrolled in this study. Amplitude of low‐frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and seed‐based functional connectivity (FC) were calculated to detect regional neural function and functional network integration, respectively. Results Compared with healthy controls, patients with PNH‐related epilepsy showed decreased ALFF in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and precuneus areas. ALFF values in both areas were negative correlated with epilepsy duration ( P < .05, Bonferroni‐corrected). Furthermore, patients with PNH‐related epilepsy had increased remote interregional FC mainly in bilateral prefrontal and parietal cortices, supramarginal gyrus, dorsal cingulate gyrus, and right insula; lower FC was found in posterior brain regions including bilateral parahippocampal gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus. Conclusions Focal spontaneous hypofunction, as assessed by ALFF, correlates with epilepsy duration in patients with PNH‐related epilepsy. Abnormalities existed both within the default‐mode network and then across the whole brain, demonstrating that intrinsic brain dysfunction may be related to specific network interactions. Our findings provide novel understanding of the connectivity‐based pathophysiological mechanisms of PNH.