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Updated: Jul 17, 2026
A Multimodal Imaging- and Stimulation-based Method of Evaluating Connectivity-related Brain Excitability in Patients with Epilepsy
Published on: November 13, 2016
Hippocampal 1H-MRSI correlates with severity of depression symptoms in temporal lobe epilepsy
F G Gilliam1, B M Maton, R C Martin
1The Neurological Institute, Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. fgilliam@neruo.columbia.edu
Objective:
To investigate the association of an indicator of hippocampal function with severity of depression symptoms in temporal lobe epilepsy.
Methods:
We evaluated 31 patients with video/EEG-confirmed temporal lobe epilepsy using creatine/N-acetylaspartate ratio maps derived from a previously validated (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((1)H-MRSI) technique at 4.1 T. We also assessed depression symptoms, epilepsy-related factors, and self-perceived social and vocational disability. We used conservative nonparametric bivariate procedures to determine the correlation of severity of depression symptoms with imaging and clinical variables.
Results:
The extent of hippocampal (1)H-MRSI abnormalities correlated with severity of depression (Spearman rho = 0.65, p value < 0.001), but other clinical factors did not.
Conclusion:
The extent of hippocampal dysfunction is associated with depression symptoms in temporal lobe epilepsy and may be a more important factor than seizure frequency or degree of disability.
