This study investigated the striatopallidal complex's involvement in status epilepticus (SE) caused by morphological neurodegenerative changes in a post-natal immature developing brain in a lithium-pilocarpine male Wistar albino rat model of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. One hundred experimental pups were grouped by age as follows: 12, 15, 18, 21, and 25 days. SE was induced by lithium-pilocarpine. Brain sections were microscopically examined by Fluoro-Jade B fluorescence stain at intervals of 4, 12, 24, and 48 h and 1 week after SE. Each interval was composed of four induced SE pups and a control. Fluoro-Jade B positive neurons in the dorsal striatum (DS) were screened and plotted on stereotaxic rat brain maps. The DS showed consistent neuronal damage in pups aged 18, 21, and 25 days. The peak of the detected damage was observed in pups aged 18 days, and the start of the morphological sequela was observed 12 h post SE. The neuronal damage in the DS was distributed around its periphery, extending medially. The damaged neurons showed intense Fluoro-Jade B staining at the intervals of 12 and 24 h post SE. SE neuronal damage was evidenced in the post-natal developing brain selectively in the DS and was age-dependent with differing morphological sequela.

• Keywords
• basal ganglia, degenerative neuronal changes, dorsal striatum, epilepsy, rat brain, seizure, status epilepticus,
• MeSH
• Corpus Striatum * pathology   metabolism   MeSH
• Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe * pathology   chemically induced   MeSH
• Rats MeSH
• Disease Models, Animal MeSH
• Neurons pathology   metabolism   MeSH
• Pilocarpine MeSH
• Rats, Wistar MeSH
• Status Epilepticus * pathology   chemically induced   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Rats MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Pilocarpine MeSH

This study focuses on white matter alterations in pharmacoresistant epilepsy patients with no visible lesions in the temporal and frontal lobes on clinical MRI (i.e. MR-negative) with lesions confirmed by resective surgery. The aim of the study was to extend the knowledge about group-specific neuropathology in MR-negative epilepsy. We used the fixel-based analysis (FBA) that overcomes the limitations of traditional diffusion tensor image analysis, mainly within-voxel averaging of multiple crossing fibres. Group-wise comparisons of fixel parameters between healthy controls (N = 100) and: (1) frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) patients (N = 9); (2) temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients (N = 13) were performed. A significant decrease of the cross-section area of the fixels in the superior longitudinal fasciculus was observed in the FLE. Results in TLE reflected widespread atrophy of limbic, thalamic, and cortico-striatal connections and tracts directly connected to the temporal lobe (such as the anterior commissure, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus, splenium of corpus callosum, and cingulum bundle). Alterations were also observed in extratemporal connections (brainstem connection, commissural fibres, and parts of the superior longitudinal fasciculus). To our knowledge, this is the first study to use an advanced FBA method not only on the datasets of MR-negative TLE patients, but also MR-negative FLE patients, uncovering new common tract-specific alterations on the group level.

• MeSH
• White Matter * diagnostic imaging   pathology   MeSH
• Epilepsy, Frontal Lobe * diagnostic imaging   MeSH
• Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe * diagnostic imaging   pathology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging MeSH
• Neural Pathways pathology   MeSH
• Diffusion Tensor Imaging MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to describe the contribution of basal ganglia (BG) thalamo-cortical circuitry to the whole-brain functional connectivity in focal epilepsies. METHODS: Interictal resting-state fMRI recordings were acquired in 46 persons with focal epilepsies. Of these 46, 22 had temporal lobe epilepsy: 9 left temporal (LTLE), 13 right temporal (RTLE); 15 had frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE); and 9 had parietal/occipital lobe epilepsy (POLE). There were 20 healthy controls. The complete weighted network was analyzed based on correlation matrices of 90 and 194 regions. The network topology was quantified on a global and regional level by measures based on graph theory, and connection-level changes were analyzed by the partial least square method. RESULTS: In all patient groups except RTLE, the shift of the functional network topology away from random was observed (normalized clustering coefficient and characteristic path length were higher in patient groups than in controls). Links contributing to this change were found in the cortico-subcortical connections. Weak connections (low correlations) consistently contributed to this modification of the network. The importance of regions changed: decreases in the subcortical areas and both decreases and increases in the cortical areas were observed in node strength, clustering coefficient and eigenvector centrality in patient groups when compared to controls. Node strength decreases of the basal ganglia, i.e. the putamen, caudate, and pallidum, were displayed in LTLE, FLE, and POLE. The connectivity within the basal ganglia-thalamus circuitry was not disturbed; the disturbance concerned the connectivity between the circuitry and the cortex. SIGNIFICANCE: Focal epilepsies affect large-scale brain networks beyond the epileptogenic zones. Cortico-subcortical functional connectivity disturbance was displayed in LTLE, FLE, and POLE. Significant changes in the resting-state functional connectivity between cortical and subcortical structures suggest an important role of the BG and thalamus in focal epilepsies.

• Keywords
• Epilepsy, Functional connectivity, Functional magnetic resonance imaging, Network analysis, Partial least square analysis,
• MeSH
• Basal Ganglia diagnostic imaging   physiopathology   MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Electroencephalography MeSH
• Epilepsies, Partial diagnostic imaging   physiopathology   MeSH
• Oxygen blood   MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging MeSH
• Brain Mapping * MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Cerebral Cortex diagnostic imaging   MeSH
• Nerve Net diagnostic imaging   MeSH
• Neural Pathways diagnostic imaging   physiopathology   MeSH
• Image Processing, Computer-Assisted MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Middle Aged MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Aged MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Oxygen MeSH

Epilepsy is both a disease of the brain and the mind. Here, we present the first of two papers with extended summaries of selected presentations of the Third International Congress on Epilepsy, Brain and Mind (April 3-5, 2014; Brno, Czech Republic). Epilepsy in history and the arts and its relationships with religion were discussed, as were overviews of epilepsy and relevant aspects of social cognition, handedness, accelerated forgetting and autobiographical amnesia, and large-scale brain networks.

• Keywords
• Accelerated forgetting, Cognition, Epilepsy, Handedness, Music, Networks, Religion, Social cognition,
• MeSH
• Amnesia diagnosis   psychology   therapy   MeSH
• Epilepsy diagnosis   psychology   therapy   MeSH
• Functional Laterality MeSH
• Internationality * MeSH
• Congresses as Topic * trends   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical * MeSH
• Brain pathology   MeSH
• Social Behavior MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic MeSH