Abstract
In this study, we investigated changes in functional connectivity (FC) of the brain networks in patients with benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) compared to healthy controls using high-density EEG data collected under eyes-closed resting state condition. EEG source reconstruction was performed with exact Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (eLORETA). We investigated FC between 84 Brodmann areas using lagged phase synchronization (LPS) in four frequency bands (δ, θ, α, and β). We further computed the network degree, clustering coefficient and efficiency. Compared to controls, patients displayed higher θ and α and lower β LPS values. In these frequency bands, patients were also characterized by less well ordered brain networks exhibiting higher global degrees and efficiencies and lower clustering coefficients. In the β band, patients exhibited reduced functional segregation and integration due to loss of both local and long-distance functional connections. These findings suggest that benign epileptic brain networks might be functionally disrupted due to their altered functional organization especially in the α and β frequency bands.
Highlights
Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is the most common idiopathic epileptic syndrome with a prevalence of 8–20% of pediatric patients with epilepsy (Holmes, 1993; Wirrell, 1998; Panayiotopoulos, 1999)
In our previous study using graph metrics we found that the brain networks in BECTS patients show functionally disrupted
We investigated changes in brain functional connectivity (FC) including local and regional graph metrics in BECTS patients compared to healthy controls in various frequency bands under the eyes-closed resting condition
Summary
Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is the most common idiopathic epileptic syndrome with a prevalence of 8–20% of pediatric patients with epilepsy (Holmes, 1993; Wirrell, 1998; Panayiotopoulos, 1999). In BECTS, interictal spikes arise primarily within centrotemporal regions, there is growing evidence that abnormal functional networks in BECTS patients, like other types of focal epilepsy, are not restricted to the epileptogenic region as revealed by the functional connectivity (FC) analysis of the brain networks (Kramer and Cash, 2012; Laufs, 2012; Adebimpe et al, 2015b). Our previous studies have shown that functional organization of the brain networks in BECTS patients largely differs from normal brain in presence or absence of interictal epileptic discharges (IES) (Adebimpe et al, 2015b, 2016). In our previous study using graph metrics we found that the brain networks in BECTS patients show functionally disrupted. Our previous study focused on global clustering coefficient and path length
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