A resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study of altered brain function of benign epilepsy in children with central-temporal spikes

Objective To analyze the brain functional fluctuation of benign epilepsy in children with central-temporal spikes(BECTS) by using ReHo algorithm based on the resting-state brain functional imaging, and to explore the connection of the brain function and changes of the connection pattern, so as to find the damage of the cognitive function of BECTS children in the early stage. Method s Perspectiveness and simple random selection of 20 BECTS children and 20 healthy control children admitted to Shenzhen Children′s Hospital from January 2015 to December 2017 were conducted for basic information collection and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) testing in a resting-state. Result s Significantly lower ReHo value appeared in the default mode network (DMN) area, and the precuneus (voxel=422, t=-5.085 6), cuneus (voxel=85, t=-4.240 3), angular gyrus (voxel=191, t=-4.681 2), cingulate cortex (voxel=313, t=-5.238 2), anterior central gyrus (voxel=12, t=-3.482 7), and supplementary motor area (voxel=1 356, t-6.596 2). The significantly increased ReHo was found in the bilateral cerebellum (voxel=71, t=5.658 2), right superior temporal gyrus (voxel=24, t= 5.184 0), operculum insulae (voxel=337, t=6.814 9), left parietal lobe (voxel=12, t=4.378 7), and inferior parietal lobule (voxel=11, t=3.433 7). Conclusions Significant impairment of DMN, Wernicke and angular gyrus functions in BECTS children may be one of the mechanisms of cognitive dysfunction.Enhanced sensorimotor area and cortical brain functions near the operculum insulae and central sulcus lead to seizures with typical clinical symptoms.fMRI has a high specificity and sensitivity for evaluating the brain function of children with BECTS, and it can detect the impairment of cognitive function in children with this type of epilepsy at an early stage. Key words: Benign epilepsy in children with central-temporal spikes; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Regional homogeneity; Brain function