Time-shift homotopic connectivity in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Medical Imaging
• Epilepsy Research

Background:

• Voxel-mirrored intrinsic functional connectivity (VMHC) maps interhemispheric connections.
• Time-shift intrinsic functional connectivity (TS-VMHC) detects brain injury via hemodynamic properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate homotopic connectivity alterations in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE).
• Assess TS-VMHC for epilepsy lateralization and surgical outcome prediction in MTLE.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state fMRI data from 62 MTLE patients and 33 controls.
• Calculated dynamic interhemispheric homotopic connectivity using 0-3 TR time-shifts.
• Compared VMHC maps between groups and analyzed laterality and surgical outcomes.

Main Results:

• MTLE patients showed decreased homotopic connectivity in temporal and striatal regions.
• Bihemispheric connectivity alterations were lateralized with time-delays in MTLE.
• Unsuccessful surgical outcomes correlated with larger interhemispheric VMHC differences.

Conclusions:

• Dynamic TS-VMHC reveals widespread interhemispheric connectivity alterations in MTLE.
• TS-VMHC shows potential for lateralizing unilateral MTLE.
• TS-VMHC may predict surgical outcomes in MTLE.