Functional MRI in patients with band heterotopia

Functional activation associated with a motor task (fist movements) was studied in three patients with band heterotopias by fMRI. In two patients, additional visual fMRI studies were performed using a flickering checkerboard stimulus. In all patients activation of the outer cortex and of the inner neuronal band could be found during performance of the motor task. Visual stimulation elicited a normal activation pattern without activation of the ectopic neuronal layer in one patient; in another patient activation extended toward the ventricular wall, i.e., along the route of embryonic neuronal migration. The potential participation of ectopic neuronal tissue in physiologic cerebral functions is of clinical impact in patients with neuronal heterotopias suffering from medically intractable seizures prior to epilepsy surgery.