Surgery may be an effective therapy for refractory focal epilepsies with a clear delineated focus but surgical benefits are less clear for patients with a poorly defined focus such as non lesional refractory partial epilepsies. SEEG is considered the criterion standard to localize the epileptogenic zone (EZ) but the procedure is risky with a limited spatial sampling. The development of non-invasive neuroimaging alternatives is thus an important goal to improve EZ delineation and optimize SEEG procedures. The main hypothesis of this research project is the existence of a network organization specific for each patient which allows the generation and propagation of epileptic activities. The investigators wish to explore this network using diffusion tensor MRI to study structural connectivity and MEG/FMRI to study functional connectivity. The investigators will apply tools from the theories of complex networks and dynamical systems to characterize the network organization of epileptic process. The investigators aimed to identify and localize differences in connectivity parameters between individual patients and a control group of healthy volunteers.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
45
ICM (Brain and Spine Institute)
Paris, France
Epileptic network assessed using structural and functional connectivity measures obtained with MRI and MEG
Structural connectivity will be assessed using diffusion tensor MRI including the following parameters: mean diffusivity and anisotropy at voxel level, fiber tractography. Functional connectivity will be assessed using Rs-FMRI or MEG signal correlation measures. Cortical parcellation will allow the location of connectivity parameters calculated using the graph theory. Structural and functional data from one given patient will be statistically compared those of the control group.
Time frame: one year
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