title: Reading, listening and memory-related brain activity in children with early-stage temporal lobe epilepsy of unknown cause-an fMRI study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The changes in functional brain organization associated with paediatric epilepsy are largely unknown. Since children with epilepsy are at risk of developing learning difficulties even before or shortly after the onset of epilepsy, we assessed the functional organization of memory and language in paediatric patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) at an early stage in epilepsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) response to four cognitive tasks measuring reading, story listening, memory encoding and retrieval in a population-based group of children with TLE of unknown cause (n = 21) and of normal intelligence and a healthy age and gender-matched control group (n = 21).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant BOLD response differences were found only in one of the four tasks. In the story listening task, significant differences were found in the right hemispheric temporal structures, thalamus and basal ganglia. Both activation and deactivation differed significantly between the groups, activation being increased and deactivation decreased in the TLE group. Furthermore, the patients with abnormal electroencephalograms (EEGs) showed significantly increased activation bilaterally in the temporal structures, basal ganglia and thalamus relative to those with normal EEGs. The patients with normal interictal EEGs had a significantly stronger deactivation than those with abnormal EEGs or the controls, the differences being located outside the temporal structures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that TLE entails a widespread disruption of brain networks. This needs to be taken into consideration when evaluating learning abilities in patients with TLE. The thalamus seems to play an active role in TLE. The changes in deactivation may reflect neuronal inhibition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Oulu University Hospital, PB 29, 90014 Oulu, Finland. Electronic address: katariina.mankinen@oulu.fi.
authors.forename: Katariina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mankinen
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: Pieta
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ipatti
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Oulu University Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: Marika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harila
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: Juha
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nikkinen
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: Jyri-Johan
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Paakki
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Oulu University Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: Seppo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rytky
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: Tuomo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Starck
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: Jukka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Remes
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Unit, O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory, Aalto University School of Science, P.B. 15100, 00076 Aalto, Finland; Neuroscience Unit, Institute of Biomedicine/Physiology, University of Helsinki, P.B. 63, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Maksym
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tokariev
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Unit, O.V. Lounasmaa Laboratory, Aalto University School of Science, P.B. 15100, 00076 Aalto, Finland; Neuroscience Unit, Institute of Biomedicine/Physiology, University of Helsinki, P.B. 63, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Synnöve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: Osmo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Tervonen
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, Oulu University Hospital, PB 29, 90014 Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rantala
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Diagnostic Radiology, Oulu University Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: Vesa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kiviniemi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D011932:Reading
keywords: Blood oxygenation level-dependent response; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Learning; Paediatric temporal lobe epilepsy