Alteration Of The Interhemispheric Cerebal Resting-State Functional Connectivity In Temporal Lobe Epilepsy And Its Relationship With Alert:a Voxel-Mirrored Homotopic Connectivity MRI Study

[Purpose]:The aim is to examine the resting state functional connectivity between the two hemispheres and its relationships with alertness and clinical characteristic in patients with right temporal lobe epilepsy using a techniquecalled "voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC)".[Method]:Select 17 patients with right temporal lobe epilepsy (rTLE group) from our hospital which standards compliant, while selecting age and sex-matched healthy volunteers (healthy control) 17 cases as controls.Two groups of people were tested attentional networks,and the reaction time is calculated. All of people underwent resting-state functional MRI scanning using 3.0T MRI.Data preprocessing use resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data processing assistant (DPARSF)based on Matlab2010b platform.The functional connectivity between symmetric interhemisph-eric voxels was computed by a technique called voxel-mirrored homo-topic connectivity (VMHC).The statistics module of REST was used to compare and calculate the changed correlation coefficient between the two groups. We choose the brain areas which VMHC value is difference as the region of interest(ROI),and the VMHC value is calculated. We computed Pearson’s correlation coefficients between the VMHC and alertness as well as illness duration of the patients. The alertness reaction time between the two groups compared with two-sample t-test analysis.[Results]:Compared to the controls, the rTLE patients showed significant decreases in VMHC in the globus palidus(P<0.05, Alphasim corrected),showed significant increases in VMHC in the cerebellar vermis, superior temporal gyrus,middle temporal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, corona radiata, superior parietal lobule,cuneus and lingual gyrus(P< 0.05, Alphasim corrected).Pearson correlation analyses showed that the VMHC in cuneus was correlated with alertness reaction time.Other brain regions found no correlation with alertness. [Conclusion]:①rTLE patients between the two hemispheres of the cerebellar vermis, superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, triangular section inferior frontal gyrus, corona radiata, parietal lobule,cuneus and lingual gyrus compensatory enhanced information exchange and improve the synchronization and coordination role on both sides of the hemisphere,in order to maintain the brain stability and integrity between the two hemispheres.②Decreased homotopic connectivity on both sides of the globus pallidus in rTLE patients may have the related of the damage structure of the brain.③Information exchange of Cuneus and alert network has a close relationship in rTLE patient. ④The length of the course of the disease has no effect on the coordination of the two cerebral hemispheres in rTLE patients.