Is Resting State Functional Connectivity Analysis Affected by Anesthetic Sedation in Pediatric Epilepsy Patients?
Abstract number :
3.262
Submission category :
5. Neuro Imaging / 5B. Functional Imaging
Year :
2019
Submission ID :
2422160
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/9/2019 1:55:12 PM
Published date :
Nov 25, 2019, 12:14 PM
Authors :
Raheel Ahmed, University of Wisconsin Madison; Veena A. Nair, University of Wisconsin Madison; Neelima Tellapragada, University of Wisconsin Madison; David Hsu, University of Wisconsin Madison; Andrew T. Knox, University of Wisconsin Madison; Vivek Prabha
Rationale: Functional neural networks may be inferred from measurements of synchronous BOLD signal fluctuations at rest. These resting state connectivity patterns may have clinical applications in epilepsy by elucidating pathways of seizure propagation and localizing eloquent function. Pharmacological sedation, often utilized during pediatric imaging, may however affect background hemodynamic fluctuations through alterations in ongoing brain activity and regional cerebral metabolism. We investigated group differences in resting functional connectivity (rsFC) in pediatric patients imaged under awake versus sedated conditions. Methods: Resting-state data from 10 awake (range 10-17 years, 3 males) and 10 sedated epilepsy patients (range 5-6 years, 6 males) was analyzed. After standard rsFC preprocessing (SPM12; Matlab; DPABI toolbox), rsFC maps were computed with seed regions in left somatomotor cortex (sensory-motor network), left inferior frontal gyrus (language), and right precuneus (default-mode network). Fisher-z transformed maps were used. An analysis of covariance was used to test for group differences with age, gender, intracranial volume, scanner type, and framewise motion displacement as covariates (statistical significance set at p < .05; FWE corrected). Results: There were no significant differences in rsFC motor network maps with seed regions in the left somatomotor cortex. Significant group differences in language and default mode networks were identified with seed regions in the left inferior frontal gyrus and right precuneus respectively. Awake patients showed significantly stronger connectivity between the left and right precuneus, as well as the right superior and inferior parietal regions. Conclusions: Procedural sedation during pediatric neuroimaging has differential effects on resting state measures of individual functional networks. This may reflect regional differences in underlying susceptibility of cerebral blood flow towards pharmacological sedation. Accurate characterization of the sedation effects on spontaneous hemodynamic fluctuations is therefore important to minimize potential confounding effects on estimation of resting state functional connectivity. Funding: No funding
Neuro Imaging