Amir Omidvarnia1, David Vaughan1,2, Mangor Pedersen1, Mira Semmelroch1, David Abbott1, and Graeme Jackson1,2,3
1Epilepsy Imaging, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia, 2Department of Neurology, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia, 3Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
In this
study, we aimed at developing an objective method for detecting
clinically suspected epileptic networks through possible association
between interictal EEG discharges and dynamic local fMRI connectivity
in focal epilepsy. We designed a time-frequency framework for
analysis of wavelet coherence between scalp EEG band amplitude
fluctuations (BAFs) and dynamic regional phase synchrony (DRePS) of
task-free fMRI in seven patients. The proposed method reveals
nonstationary relationship between scalp interictal epileptic
discharges (IEDs) and DRePS within ultra-slow frequencies (~0.003 –
0.03Hz). Evaluation of dynamic fMRI phase synchrony at rest,
particularly using data-fusion with interictal scalp EEG, may provide
useful markers of localized and transient brain connectivity
disturbance in epilepsy.
