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Dynamical intrinsic functional architecture of the brain during absence seizures

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Abstract

Epilepsy is characterized by recurrent and temporary brain dysfunction due to discharges of interconnected groups of neurons. The brain of epilepsy patients has a dynamic bifurcation that switches between epileptic and normal states. The dysfunctional state involves large-scale brain networks. It is very important to understand the network mechanisms of seizure initiation, maintenance, and termination in epilepsy. Absence epilepsy provides a unique model for neuroimaging investigation on dynamic evolutions of brain networks over seizure repertoire. By using a dynamic functional connectivity and graph theoretical analyses to study absence seizures (AS), we aimed to obtain transition of network properties that account for seizure onset and offset. We measured resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) from children with AS. We used simultaneous EEG to define the preictal, ictal and postictal intervals of seizures. We measured dynamic connectivity maps of the thalamus network and the default mode network (DMN), as well as functional connectome topologies, during the three different seizure intervals. The analysis of dynamic changes of anti-correlation between the thalamus and the DMN is consistent with an inhibitory effect of seizures on the default mode of brain function, which gradually fades out after seizure onset. Also, we observed complex transitions of functional network topology, implicating adaptive reconfiguration of functional brain networks. In conclusion, our work revealed novel insights into modifications in large-scale functional connectome during AS, which may contribute to a better understanding the network mechanisms of state bifurcations in epileptogenesis.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. 81201155, 81271553, 30971019, 81171328 and 81020108022), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant no. 2013M532229), Grants for Young Scholar in Jinling Hospital (Grant nos. Q2008063, 2011060), Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant no. 320030_146531) and Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission (Grant no. PCIG12-334039).

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders and the Affiliated Hospital, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 310015, China

    Wei Liao, Gong-Jun Ji, Han Zhang, Jue Wang & Yu-Feng Zang

  2. Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, 310015, China

    Wei Liao, Gong-Jun Ji, Han Zhang, Jue Wang & Yu-Feng Zang

  3. Department of Medical Imaging, Nanjing Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, 305#, Eastern Zhongshan Rd., Nanjing, 210002, China

    Wei Liao, Zhiqiang Zhang, Qiang Xu, Zhengge Wang, Qing Jiao & Guangming Lu

  4. Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1, UK

    Dante Mantini

  5. Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland

    Dante Mantini

  6. State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Gong-Jun Ji

  7. Department of Neurology, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing, 210002, China

    Guanghui Chen

  8. Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing University School of Medicine, Nanjing, 210002, China

    Lei Tian

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  1. Wei Liao
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  2. Zhiqiang Zhang
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  3. Dante Mantini
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  4. Qiang Xu
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  5. Gong-Jun Ji
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  6. Han Zhang
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  7. Jue Wang
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  8. Zhengge Wang
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  9. Guanghui Chen
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  10. Lei Tian
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  11. Qing Jiao
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  12. Yu-Feng Zang
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  13. Guangming Lu
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Wei Liao or Guangming Lu.

Additional information

W. Liao and Z. Zhang contributed equally to this work.

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Liao, W., Zhang, Z., Mantini, D. et al. Dynamical intrinsic functional architecture of the brain during absence seizures. Brain Struct Funct 219, 2001–2015 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-013-0619-2

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