Study of functional and structural connectivity and its relationship with memory deficits in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

Abstract

Epilepsy is characterized by recurrent seizures associated with different etiological substrates, excluding symptomatic crises caused by acute brain injuries. Seizures have variable symptomatology depending on the cortical region involved and can be classified as localized (focal) or diffuse (generalized). The most common subtype of focal epilepsy is Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. While it is common knowledge that the symptoms of temporal lobe epilepsy are not necessarily focal, little is known about cognitive impairments and its relationship with other regions that are not directly affected by mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. The dysfunction of the brain not engaged in a specific task, or "rest" (Resting State Network), which includes a series of networks connected functionally, may have a role in the genesis of cognitive impairment. This hypothesis, however, remains speculative and further clinical studies are needed to access the possible correlation between the severity of cognitive dysfunction in patients with TLE and the injury of Resting State Network. The Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) analysis is a noninvasive method that provides microstructure inferences in white matter by measuring the anisotropic diffusion of water in the fiber tracts. The DTI can provide evidences of clinical or behavioral abnormalities. This project intends to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (resting state networks) and structural (DTI) to examine possible correlations between them and the impairment of cognitive aspects common to patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. (AU)