[Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging applications in the temporal lobe epilepsy surgery]

There is a growing interest in the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and his clinical applications in the planning of the epilepsy surgery. The conventional method of using the fMRI require the cooperation of the patient. Currently it is being studied the possibility of using this technique without the performance of specific tasks by the patient in the modality of resting state.

To study the clinical applications of the fMRI in resting state, in the planning of the temporal epilepsy surgery.

We carried out a systematic review helped by a bibliographic research in different databases, including PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Cochrane. We included articles focused on the use of resting state fMRI written in Spanish and English, excluding studies exclusively focused on pediatric patients or related with the presence of epileptogenic tumors and other structural pathologies except for the temporal sclerosis. We found 11 articles which describe different clinical applications for the resting state fMRI in the context of epilepsy surgery. In five, the objective was to identify the epileptogenic hemisphere; in two, it was planned to predict the improvement of the disease; and in four of the articles, it has been studied the possibility of predicting worsening of cognitive functions that are frequently affected after the surgery.

The resting state fMRI is a technique with a great potential of developing an useful tool in the context of planning the epilepsy surgery, as well as in the prediction of postsurgical morbidity.