title: EEG-related functional MRI in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes.
abstract: The localization of epileptic foci is an important issue in children with extratemporal epilepsies. However, the value of noninvasive methods such as the EEG-assisted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has not been sufficiently investigated in children. As a model of extratemporal epilepsies, we studied 7 patients aged 5 to 12 (median 10) years with benign childhood epilepsy and centrotemporal (rolandic) spikes. Interictal spikes were recorded during the fMRI acquisition on a MR-compatible battery-powered digital EEG system with 16 channels. The fMRI sequences were correlated off-line with the EEG spikes and analyzed with the software Statistical Parametrical Mapping SPM99. The fMRI results demonstrated the spike-related activation in the perisylvian central region in three patients; we could not demonstrate fMRI activation despite active spiking in 2 patients, and 2 patients did not produce sufficient spikes for fMRI analysis. We currently consider the spike-related fMRI as a research tool that localizes epileptic activity in selected patients. Further improvements of the technique are necessary to allow a clinical application of this method.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Neuroradiology, University Children's Hospital, Johannes-Gutenberg University, D-55101 Mainz, Germany. boor@neuroradio.klinik.uni-mainz.de
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boor
authors.forename: Goran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vucurevic
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pfleiderer
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stoeter
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kutschke
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boor
mesh_terms: D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004569:Electroencephalography; D019305:Epilepsy, Rolandic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology