Ipsilateral cortical motor desynchronisation is reduced in Benign Epilepsy with Centro-Temporal Spikes

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Epilepsy Research

Background:

• Benign Epilepsy with Centro-Temporal Spikes (BECTS) is a common childhood epilepsy syndrome.
• Motor skill deficits can occur in children with BECTS, but the underlying neural mechanisms are not fully understood.
• Magnetoencephalography (MEG) offers a non-invasive method to study brain activity during motor tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate sensorimotor responses using MEG in children with BECTS during a simple motor task.
• To explore the relationship between these brain responses and motor skills (manual dexterity) in children with BECTS.
• To determine if clinical characteristics, such as seizure recency, influence these sensorimotor responses.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-one children with BECTS and 15 age-matched controls performed a finger abduction task while undergoing MEG.
• Movement-related oscillatory responses, specifically ipsilateral movement-related beta desynchrony (MRBDi), were analyzed.
• Regression analyses correlated MEG findings with manual dexterity assessments and clinical data.

Main Results:

• Children with BECTS exhibited significantly reduced ipsilateral movement-related beta desynchrony (MRBDi) compared to controls.
• Lower manual dexterity was observed in the BECTS group compared to the general population.
• Reduced MRBDi was associated with more recent epileptic seizures, while less lateralized MRBD predicted better manual dexterity.

Conclusions:

• Altered sensorimotor network activity, particularly in the ipsilateral motor cortex, is associated with motor skill impairments in children with BECTS.
• The degree of these neural alterations appears to be influenced by the recency of seizures.
• These findings suggest potential disruptions in inter-hemispheric communication during motor control in BECTS.