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Network Analysis of the Default Mode Network Using Functional Connectivity MRI in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
Published on: August 5, 2014
Depression in temporal lobe epilepsy surgery patients: an FDG-PET study
Michael Salzberg1, Taufik Taher, Michael Davie
1Department of Psychiatry, St. Vincent's Hospital and University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. msalzber@bigpond.net.au
Epilepsia
|January 5, 2007
Summary
Depression in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and after surgery may be linked to reduced activity in the orbitofrontal cortex. This finding suggests a potential role for this brain region in TLE-related mood disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Epileptology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Depression is a common comorbidity in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and following temporal lobectomy.
- Frontal lobe hypometabolism is a consistent finding in non-epileptic depression.
- TLE patients often exhibit frontal lobe hypometabolism, suggesting a potential link to depression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between frontal lobe hypometabolism patterns and depression in patients with TLE and those who have undergone temporal lobectomy.
- To test the hypothesis that frontal lobe hypometabolism is related to depression in TLE patients.
Main Methods:
- Studied 23 medically refractory TLE patients undergoing anterior temporal lobectomy with preoperative FDG-PET scans.
- Utilized statistical parametric mapping (SPM-99) to compare hypometabolism patterns between depressed and non-depressed patients.
- Assessed patients pre- and post-operatively for psychiatric status.
Main Results:
- Patients with a history of preoperative depression showed focal hypometabolism in the ipsilateral orbitofrontal cortex.
- Patients who developed postoperative depression also exhibited hypometabolism in the ipsilateral orbitofrontal region.
Conclusions:
- Orbitofrontal cortex dysfunction may contribute to depression in TLE patients.
- This dysfunction is also implicated in the pathophysiology of non-epileptic depression.
- Findings suggest a potential neurobiological link between TLE, temporal lobectomy, and depression.
