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Simultaneous EEG and functional MRI of epileptic activity: a case report
J Baudewig1, H J Bittermann, W Paulus
1Biomedizinische NMR Forschungs GmbH am Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, 37070 Göttingen, Germany.
Objectives:
Attempts to localize the source of epileptic activity by linking electroencephalographic (EEG) abnormalities to blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal alterations are hampered mainly by EEG distortions during MRI, subject motion, and unknown hemodynamic response characteristics.
Methods:
Using T2*-weighted echo-planar imaging at 2.0 T (2 s temporal resolution, 2 x 2 x 4 mm(3) spatial resolution), this work demonstrates strategies to alleviate some of these problems while studying a patient who had ideopathic generalized epilepsy with poly-spike and slow-wave complexes.
Results:
Continuous EEG recordings during dynamic MRI (500 ms scanning, 1500 ms delay) and post-examination derivation of an EEG reference function for MRI analysis revealed positive BOLD MRI responses with temporal characteristics similar to those obtained for functional challenges.
Conclusions:
The ability to map focal epileptic activity and/or associated cognitive processing provides new potential for both epilepsy research and clinical patient management.