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Functional MRI applications in clinical epilepsy.

Functional MRI holds great promise as a diagnostic tool in presurgical evaluation of patients with epilepsy. Recent research has used fMRI for localization of the seizure focus by tracking interictal spikes and by observing blood flow changes during seizure onset. Localization of the language-dominant hemisphere with fMRI has been well-validated in normal volunteers and left-hemisphere-dominant epilepsy patients, but is less developed for patients with mixed- or right-hemisphere language dominance. Intrahemispheric mapping of sensory and motor functions with fMRI is fairly well established, and progress is being made in mapping higher-level cognitive functions, particularly language. Little research has convincingly demonstrated hippocampal function in the normal brain during memory processing, and applications of memory mapping in epilepsy are still lacking. While the clinical use of fMRI in epilepsy needs substantially more study, this is nonetheless a very promising technique that may dramatically change the presurgical diagnostic regimen for these patients.

Brain Mapping↗

Near-infrared spectroscopic topography as a tool to monitor motor reorganization after hemiparetic stroke: a comparison with functional MRI.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Motor functional recovery from stroke can occur, but the mechanisms underlying this restorative process remain to be elucidated. We used near-infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) topography in comparison with functional MRI (fMRI) to evaluate the compensatory motor activation of cortical regions in patients who recovered from hemiparesis after cortical cerebral infarction. METHODS: We examined 6 right-handed patients who suffered cerebral infarction of the middle cerebral artery territory with minimal or mild residual contralateral hemiparesis (4 men and 2 women, 59 to 79 years old, all had left hemiparesis). Both fMRI and NIRS were studied during a hand movement task at chronic stages. Five right-handed, normal subjects (3 men and 2 women, 44 to 81 years old) served as controls. RESULTS: fMRI and NIRS detected very similar cerebral cortical activation, although NIRS detected only superficial activation. The spatial resolution of NIRS was less than that of fMRI, but NIRS provided a dynamic profile of activation. Normal subjects activated predominantly the contralateral primary sensorimotor cortex and supplementary motor areas during each hand movement. All the stroke patients exhibited the normal activation pattern during normal hand movement. On affected hand movement, the stroke patients showed extended activation not only in the contralateral motor cortex but also in the ipsilateral motor cortex (primary motor cortex and supplementary motor areas). CONCLUSIONS: Both fMRI and NIRS studies provided evidence for the contribution of ipsilateral motor cortical compensation or reorganization to the recovery from poststroke hemiparesis. The result demonstrated that NIRS was a unique tool to monitor poststroke alterations in cortical motor functions.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

[Functional neuronavigation. Fusion of functional MRI data in a neuronavigation system].

Neuronavigation systems integrating functional magnetic resonance imaging data have been reported recently, but generally without many details about methodology. We propose an easy method to perform functional neuronavigation by integrating functional MRI data analyzed with the Statistical Parametric Mapping 99 reference software, in the Stealth Station which is the most common neuronavigation system. Users of this new and promising technique, which requires further validation, must be aware of its limitations. Functional MRI data seem to be the major source of imprecision. As a result we do not yet recommend the use of functional neuronavigation without the control of direct cortical stimulations.

Brain Mapping↗

A new potential of blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) functional MRI for evaluating cerebral centers of penile erection.

It is well known that penile erection is dependent on commands from the central nervous system. However, there has been little research on the central control of penile erection. The aim of this study was to evaluate, for the first time, the cerebral centers of penile erection using BOLD-functional MRI. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) on a 1.5T MR scanner was performed in 12 sexually potent male volunteers (mean age: 23) and two hypogonadal impotent patients. In this study, blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) technique was utilized to create fMRI reflecting local brain activities. Real-time visual stimulation was performed with an alternatively combined erotic and non-erotic film to identify and quantify the activated brain regions associated with sexual response. Subjective sexual arousal and penile erection responses were assessed using 5-point scales ranging from 1 (no change) to 5 (maximal increase). In normal volunteers, the mean scores on subjective sexual arousal and penile erection by sexual stimulation with erotic film were 3.0 and 3.3 respectively, whereas there were no changes by non-erotic stimulation. During the visual stimulation the occipital cortex was activated by either an erotic or non-erotic film, the erotic film gave 150-200% stronger activation. However, more than seven of the 12 healthy subjects were significantly activated in the areas of inferior frontal lobe, cingulate gyrus, insula gyrus, corpus callosum, thalamus, caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, and inferior temporal lobe by erotic stimulation. In the hypogonadal patients, brain activation in response to the erotic film decreased compared to normal volunteers, however, it was restored by testosterone supplementation. These results are the first demonstration to show the functional neuroanatomy of the brain associated with sexual arousal by visual sexual stimulation using BOLD-based fMRI. Further studies are needed to verify that fMRI provides an important new tool in evaluating the cerebral center of the penile erection.

Adult↗

Parahippocampal activation evoked by masked traumatic images in posttraumatic stress disorder: a functional MRI study.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been widely studied, but its neural mechanism is still unclear. The purpose of this study is to identify dysfunctional areas in PTSD throughout the whole brain to help to elucidate the neural mechanisms of PTSD. Sixteen patients with PTSD and sixteen healthy controls participated in this study. Traumatic images under perceptual threshold including scenes of earthquakes, traffic accidents, ambulances, emergency rooms, and crimes were presented to the participants, and brain activation was measured using functional MRI. Functional brain images of both groups were evaluated with random effect analysis for the whole brain. In the control group, activation in the ventral frontoparietal areas correlated significantly with presentation of the masked traumatic stimuli. In the PTSD group, activation was not observed in these areas, but significant activation correlated with the masked traumatic stimuli in the parahippocampal region including the left parahippocampal gyrus and tail of the left hippocampus. These results suggest that in PTSD patients activation in the ventral frontoparietal network associated with visual attention processing is attenuated, while the left hippocampal area associated with episodic and autobiographical memory is abnormally easily activated. This pattern of activation corresponds well to the clinical characteristics of PTSD, in which even slight traumatic stimuli tend to induce intrusive recollection or flashbacks, despite a general decrease in attention and ability to concentrate.

Adult↗

An evaluation of distinct volumetric and functional MRI contributions toward understanding age and task performance: a study in the basal ganglia.

Prior work by our group and others has implicated the basal ganglia as important in age-related differences in tasks involving motor response control. The present study used structural and functional MRI approaches to analyze this region of interest (ROI) toward better understanding the contributions of structural and functional MRI measures to understanding age-related and task performance-related cognitive differences. Eleven healthy elders were compared with 11 healthy younger adults while they completed the "go" portion of a complex Go/No-go task. Separate ROI's in the bilateral caudate (C) and putamen/globus pallidus (PGp) were studied based upon previous findings of age-related functional MRI differences in basal ganglia for this portion of the task. Structural volumes and functional activation (in percent area under the curve during correct responses) were independently extracted for these ROI's. Results showed that age correlated with ROI volume in bilateral PGp and C, while multiple task performance measures correlated with functional activation in the left PGp. The Go/No-go task measures were also significantly correlated with traditional attention and executive functioning measures. Importantly, fMRI activation and volumes from each ROI were not significantly inter-correlated. These findings suggest that structural and functional MRI make unique contributions to the study of performance changes in aging.

Adult↗

[Brain functional MRI: physiological, technical, and methodological bases, and clinical applications].

Brain functional MRI (fMRI) provides an indirect mapping of cerebral activity, based on the detection of the local blood flow and oxygenation changes following neuronal activity (BOLD contrast, Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent). fMRI allows us to study non invasively the normal and pathological aspects of cortical functional organization. Each fMRI study compares two different states of activity. Echo-Planar Imaging (EPI) is the technic of choice that makes it possible to study the whole brain at a rapid pace. Activation maps are calculated from a statistical analysis of the local signal changes. Functional MRI is now becoming an essential tool in the neurofunctional work-up of many neurosurgery patients, as well as the reference method to image normal or pathologic functional brain organization in adults and children.

Adult↗

Application of functional MRI in epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE: To review the recent development of functional MRI application in epilepsy. DATA SOURCES: Both Chinese and English language literatures were researched using MEDLINE/CD ROM (1996 - 2005) and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Disk (1996 - 2005). STUDY SELECTION: Published articles about functional MRI application and epilepsy were selected. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were mainly extracted from 38 articles which are listed in the reference section of this review. RESULTS: fMRI can be used to localize seizure foci through detecting these cerebral hemodynamic changes produced by epileptiform discharges. EEG-triggered fMRI, which has higher spatial and temporal resolution, helps to detect the spatiotemporal pattern of spike origin and propagation, and define localization of the epileptogenic focus. fMRI is also useful in language and memory cognitive function assessment and presurgical assessment of refractory epilepsy. Atypically distributed cognitive function areas can be detected by fMRI, because of cortical language and memory areas reorganization during long-term epileptic activity in patients with epilepsy. CONCLUSIONS: fMRI technique plays a very important role in cognitive function and presurgical assessment of patients with epilepsy. It is meaningful for understanding pathogenesis of epilepsy.

Cognition↗

Simultaneous multislice acquisition using rosette trajectories (SMART): a new imaging method for functional MRI.

A new acquisition technique for rapid, whole-brain functional MRI is presented. In this technique, several slices are simultaneously acquired using rosette k-space trajectories and a gradient-induced frequency modulation. This modulation together with the spectral properties of the rosette acquisition allow all slices to be reconstructed individually. In functional MRI studies, acquisition rates of 16.7 to 25 images/s were achieved, a threefold improvement over single-slice acquisitions. The raw images showed some increase in noise. However, because this increase is mostly stationary, the functional activation maps showed only a slight increase in noise (8%).

Humans↗

Perimetric visual field and functional MRI correlation: implications for image-guided surgery in occipital brain tumours.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the results of visual functional MRI with those of perimetric evaluation in patients with visual field defects and retrochiasmastic tumours and in normal subjects without visual field defect. The potential clinical usefulness of visual functional MRI data during resective surgery was evaluated in patients with occipital lobe tumours. METHODS: Eleven patients with various tumours and visual field defects and 12 normal subjects were studied by fMRI using bimonocular or monocular repetitive photic stimulation (8 Hz). The data obtained were analyzed with the statistical parametric maps software (p<10(-8)) and were compared with the results of Goldmann visual field perimetric evaluation. In patients with occipital brain tumours undergoing surgery, the functional data were registered in a frameless stereotactic device and the images fused into anatomical three standard planes and three dimensional reconstructions of the brain surface. RESULTS: Two studies of patients were discarded, one because of head motion and the other because of badly followed instructions. On the remaining patients the functional activations found in the visual cortex were consistent with the results of perimetric evaluation in all but one of the patients and all the normal subjects although the results of fMRI were highly dependent on the choices of the analysis thresholds. Visual functional MRI image guided data were used in five patients with occipital brain tumours. No added postoperative functional field defect was detected. CONCLUSIONS: There was a good correspondence between fMRI data and the results of perimetric evaluation although dependent on the analysis thresholds. Visual fMRI data registered into a frameless stereotactic device may be useful in surgical planning and tumour removal.

Adult↗

Inaudible functional MRI using a truly mute gradient echo sequence.

We performed functional MRI experiments using a mute version of a gradient echo sequence on adult volunteers using either a simple visual stimulus (flicker goggles: 4 subjects) or an auditory stimulus (music: 4 subjects). Because the mute sequence delivers fewer images per unit time than a fast echo planar imaging (EPI) sequence, we explored our data using a parametric ANOVA test and a non-parametric Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test in addition to performing a cross-correlation analysis. All three methods were in close agreement regarding the location of the BOLD contrast signal change. We demonstrated that, using appropriate statistical analysis, functional MRI using an MR sequence that is acoustically inaudible to the subject is feasible. Furthermore compared with the "silent" event-related procedures involving an EPI protocol, our mGE protocol compares favourably with respect to experiment time and the BOLD signal.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Functional MRI in children with congenital structural abnormalities of the occipital cortex.

Functional MRI techniques were used to map the position of visual cortex in an awake and a sedated child with congenital anomalies of the posterior hemispheres. In one subject with cortical heterotopia, an activated cortex was found distinct from the structurally abnormal area detected on conventional MRI. In a sedated patient with holoprosencephaly, activated cortical areas in the posterior-medial portions of the hemispheres were identified. This study demonstrates the utility of functional MRI in such patients, both awake and sedated.

Adolescent↗

Functional MRI of the lung using hyperpolarized 3-helium gas.

Lung imaging has traditionally relied on x-ray methods, since proton MRI is limited to some extent by low proton density in the lung parenchyma and static field inhomogeneities in the chest. The relatively recent introduction of MRI of hyperpolarized noble gases has led to a rapidly evolving field of pulmonary MRI, revealing functional information of the lungs, which were hitherto unattainable. This review article briefly describes the physical background of the technology, and subsequently focuses on its clinical applications. Four different techniques that have been used in various human investigations are discussed: ventilation distribution, ventilation dynamics, and small airway evaluation using diffusion imaging and oxygen uptake assessment.

Administration, Inhalation↗

Functional MRI of the brain: localisation of eloquent cortex in focal brain lesion therapy.

The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of functional MRI (fMRI) in a clinical environment on a large patient group, and to evaluate the pretherapeutic value of localisation of eloquent cortex. Forty patients with focal brain lesions of different origin were studied using fMRI. Functional information was obtained using motor, somatosensory, auditory and phonological stimuli depending on the localisation of the lesions. To obtain information about the spatial accuracy of fMRI, the results were compared with postoperative electrocortical stimulation. Two patients with secondary trigeminal neuralgia were scanned using a motor protocol and were implanted with an extradural plate electrode. Imaging was successful in 40 of 42 patients (including the 2 with trigeminal neuralgia). These patients were analysed for strength of activation, the relation of the lesion to activation sites and the presence of mass effect. The correlation between these data and surgical findings provided significant additional clinical information. Functional MRI can be accurately performed in patients with focal brain lesions using a dedicated approach. Functional MRI offers important clinical information as a contribution to a decrease in posttherapeutic morbidity. The accuracy of the technique can be confirmed by other modalities, including invasive cortical electrostimulation.

Adolescent↗

[Functional MRI of the pelvic floor: its normal anatomy and pathological findings].

PURPOSE: Functional MRI of the pelvic floor allows mapping and definition of different forms of pelvic floor dysfunction. METHODS: We performed functional MRT of the pelvic floor in 39 healthy nulliparas and 324 patients. The diagnosis of a pathological organ descent was made if certain landmarks of the pelvic floor compartments descended below the pubococcygeal reference-line (PC-line). RESULTS: If there was no organ descent below the PC-line on straining and if the pelvic floor muscles hardly changed position, a normal finding was diagnosed. 70% of organ prolapses came in the combined form. The generally gradual development of an organ descent led to a change of the main finding in 21.6%. The masking of a cystocele (48.6%) or of an enterocele (34.3%) by a rectocele was most frequent in these cases. DISCUSSION: The use of functional MRI of the pelvic floor appears to be especially useful in young patients, in cases of divergent clinical and sonographic or radiological findings and if the presence of a predominant hernial sac with or without enterocele/rectocele is supposed.

Adolescent↗

Noninvasive identification of human central sulcus: a comparison of gyral morphology, functional MRI, dipole localization, and direct cortical mapping.

The locations of the human primary hand cortical somatosensory and motor areas were estimated using structural and functional MRI, scalp-recorded somatosensory-evoked potential dipole localization, expert judgments based on cortical anatomy, and direct cortical stimulation and recording studies. The within-subject reliability of localization (across 3 separate days) was studied for eight normal subjects. Intraoperative validation was obtained from five neurosurgical patients. The mean discrepancy between the different noninvasive functional imaging methods ranged from 6 to 26 mm. Quantitative comparison of the noninvasive methods with direct intraoperative stimulation and recording studies did not reveal a significant mean difference in accuracy. However, the expert judgments of the location of the sensory hand areas were significantly more variable (maximum error, 39 mm) than the dipole or functional MRI techniques. It is concluded that because expert judgments are less reliable for identifying the cortical hand area, consideration of the findings of noninvasive functional MRI and dipole localization studies is desirable for preoperative surgical planning.

Adult↗

Long-term test-retest reliability of functional MRI in a classification learning task.

Functional MRI is widely used for imaging the neural correlates of psychological processes and how these brain processes change with learning, development and neuropsychiatric disorder. In order to interpret changes in imaging signals over time, for example, in patient studies, the long-term reliability of fMRI must first be established. Here, eight healthy adult subjects were scanned on two sessions, 1 year apart, while performing a classification learning task known to activate frontostriatal circuitry. We show that behavioral performance and frontostriatal activation were highly concordant at a group level at both time-points. Furthermore, intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs), which index the degree of correlation between subjects at different time-points, were high for behavior and for functional activation. ICC was significantly higher within the network recruited by learning than outside that network. We conclude that fMRI can have high long-term test-retest reliability, making it suitable as a biomarker for brain development and neurodegeneration.

Adult↗