Functional magnetic resonance: new applications in epilepsy.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging technique is a non-invasive tool that is capable to detect the subtle hemodynamic changes produced during regional brain activation. Functional MRI applications in epilepsy patients are language lateralization and mapping, memory function assessment and localization of ictal and interictal changes. Functional MRI for language lateralization is currently used in clinical practice and provides comparable results to the intracarotid amobarbital test. In functional MRI studies for memory function assessment, results show changes in epileptic patients, but further studies are required to validate this technique for individual cases. A new application is ictal or interictal functional MRI with EEG recording that provides more detailed information about simultaneous electrographic and hemodynamic changes during interictal discharges or EEG seizures. This technique seems to have encouraging results to localize the epileptogenic area and to study propagation patterns.
Bargalló
Núria
N
Department of Neuroradiology, Centre de Diagnóstic per la Imatge, Hospital Clínic I Provincial de Barcelona, C/Villarroel 170, Barcelona 08036, Spain. bargallo@clinic.ub.es
D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*