title: Highly focal BOLD activation on functional MRI in a patient with progressive myoclonic epilepsy and diffuse giant somatosensory evoked potentials.
abstract: We analyzed the effect of afferent input on patterns of brain electrical activation in a 31-year-old man with progressive myoclonic epilepsy (PME) by measuring the somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) amplitude at the scalp after median nerve stimulation and examining the changes in the functional magnetic resonance imaging blood oxygen level-dependent (fMRI BOLD) signal. High-amplitude SSEPs were elicited at the wrist in association with highly focal BOLD activation of the contralateral sensorimotor areas. By contrast, no diffuse activation of either the frontal or the posterior parietal cortical areas was observed, as seen in previously recorded data on SSEPs from a healthy control group. The highly focal BOLD activation in this patient suggests that cortex hyperexcitability might be limited to the sensorimotor cortex in PME. The combined EEG-fMRI findings highlight a dissociation between BOLD activation and neurophysiological findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological, Neuropsychological, Morphological and Movement Sciences, Section of Clinical Neurology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Manganotti
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brigo
authors.forename: Giada
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zoccatelli
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alessandrini
authors.forename: Francesca Benedetta
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Pizzini
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beltramello
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Storti
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Formaggio
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fiaschi
authors.forename: Luigi Giuseppe
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Bongiovanni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D020191:Myoclonic Epilepsies, Progressive / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen