Increased Cerebral-Subcortical Functional Connectivity Relates to Seizures After Traumatic Brain Injury
Abstract number :
1.258
Submission category :
5. Neuro Imaging / 5B. Functional Imaging
Year :
2021
Submission ID :
1826556
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/4/2021 12:00:00 PM
Published date :
Nov 22, 2021, 06:54 AM
Authors :
Marina Weiler, PhD - UCLA; Hsiang Yeh, BS - Neurology - UCLA; Jerome Engel, MD, PhD - Neurology - UCLA; Paul Vespa, MD - Neurosurgery - UCLA; Martin Monti, PhD - Psychology - UCLA; John Stern, MD - Neurology - UCLA
Rationale: Submitted on behalf of the EpiBioS4Rx investigators.
Epileptogenesis presumably includes both local pathophysiologic abnormalities related to seizure generation and more widespread responses to these abnormalities. Based on Schaper and colleagues’ report (Schaper, 2020) that connectivity to globus pallidus interna (GPi), substantial nigra pars reticulata (SNr), and cerebellar nuclei (CN) is abnormal in focal epilepsy irrespective of seizure-onset localization, we sought to identify if seizure-related functional connectivity (FC) abnormality is present upon initial presentation after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The hypothesis is that FC abnormality may relate to having seizures and may pre-exist chronic epilepsy.
Methods: The participants were enrolled in EpiBioS4Rx, an IRB approved, multi-center, longitudinal investigation to identify and validate biomarkers of epileptogenesis after traumatic brain injury (Vespa, 2019). Resting-state fMRI and clinical data from 57 participants (ages 15 to 90 years) were analyzed for a relationship between seizure occurrence and FC to GPi, SNr, and CN. Among the participants, 17 had seizures with 4 having seizures exclusively during the 7 days after TBI, 9 exclusively later than 7 days, and 4 during both the early and late periods. The FC analysis was based on a seed that included bilateral GPi, SNr, and CN with Pearson correlation to cerebral gray matter. Correlation maps were z-transformed for a second level analysis that included whether a seizure occurred, delay from TBI to fMRI, age, and gender. fMRI was obtained between 1 and 20 days after TBI (median 11 days), and the fMRI for 3 participants was obtained prior to the first seizure.
Results: FC from the GPi, SNr, and CN to the cerebral gray matter was increased (cluster-level p< 0.001, uncorrected) in the seizure group when compared to the non-seizure group. Regions with increased FC to the seed included the left lingual gyrus and the right middle frontal gyrus. FC was not increased to any regions in the non-seizure group.
Neuro Imaging