title: Graph theoretical analysis reveals disrupted topological properties of whole brain functional networks in temporal lobe epilepsy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is one of the most common forms of drug-resistant epilepsy. Previous studies have indicated that the TLE-related impairments existed in extensive local functional networks. However, little is known about the alterations in the topological properties of whole brain functional networks.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, we acquired resting-state BOLD-fMRI (rsfMRI) data from 26 TLE patients and 25 healthy controls, constructed their whole brain functional networks, compared the differences in topological parameters between the TLE patients and the controls, and analyzed the correlation between the altered topological properties and the epilepsy duration.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The TLE patients showed significant increases in clustering coefficient and characteristic path length, but significant decrease in global efficiency compared to the controls. We also found altered nodal parameters in several regions in the TLE patients, such as the bilateral angular gyri, left middle temporal gyrus, right hippocampus, triangular part of left inferior frontal gyrus, left inferior parietal but supramarginal and angular gyri, and left parahippocampus gyrus. Further correlation analysis showed that the local efficiency of the TLE patients correlated positively with the epilepsy duration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicated the disrupted topological properties of whole brain functional networks in TLE patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings indicated the TLE-related impairments in the whole brain functional networks, which may help us to understand the clinical symptoms of TLE patients and offer a clue for the diagnosis and treatment of the TLE patients.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
authors.forename: Junjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Image Center, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
authors.forename: Shijun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Image Center, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
authors.forename: Zhenyin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Department of Epilepsy Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Guangdong 999 Brain Hospital, Guangzhou 510510, China.
authors.forename: Xiangshu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
authors.forename: Ruibin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Image Center, Guangdong 999 Brain Hospital, Guangzhou 510510, China. Electronic address: wangwensheng36@163.com.
authors.forename: Wensheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science of Guangdong Province, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China. Electronic address: ruiwang.huang@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ruiwang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Duration of epilepsy; Efficiency; Functional networks; Graph theory