title: Cortical and thalamic resting-state functional connectivity is altered in childhood absence epilepsy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Functional imaging studies have identified a common network of brain regions that activate and deactivate during the generalised spike wave (GSW) discharges of childhood absence epilepsy (CAE). Functional connectivity within this network is also altered during the resting state. In this study our aim was to assess functional connectivity throughout the whole brain of patients with CAE.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied a group of eleven patients with untreated CAE and eleven matched controls using resting-state fMRI. We measured functional connectivity between every pair of voxels and generated images of "whole-brain" functional connectivity by counting the number of functional connections of each voxel.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were marked differences between CAE patients and controls in whole brain functional connectivity. The patients had decreased connectivity in the thalamus and basal ganglia and increased connectivity in the medial occipital cortex.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest enduring changes in function of the thalamus and the cortex in CAE patients even when there is no GSW activity. These human functional connectivity data support the findings in animal models of involvement of cortex as well as thalamus in absence epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, Florey Neuroscience Institutes, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Masterton
authors.forename: Patrick W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Carney
authors.forename: Graeme D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Jackson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D004832:Epilepsy, Absence / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000502:physiology*