Surface-based morphometry study of the brain in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes

Abstract

Background: The study aimed to explore cortical morphology in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) and the relationship between cortical characteristics and age of onset and intelligence quotient (IQ). Methods: Cortical morphometry with surface-based morphometry (SBM) was used to compare changes in cortical thickness, gyrification, sulcal depth, and fractal dimension of the cerebral cortex between 25 BECTS patients and 20 healthy controls (HCs) with two-sample t-tests [P<0.05, family-wise error (FWE) corrected].Relationships between abnormal cortical morphological changes and age of onset and IQ, which included verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ), performance intelligence quotient (PIQ), and full-scale intelligence quotient (FIQ) were investigated with Spearman correlation analysis (P<0.05, uncorrected). Results:The BECTS patients showed extensive cortical thinning predominantly in bilateral frontal, temporal regions, and limbic system. Cortical gyrification increased in the left hemisphere and partial right hemisphere, and the decreased cortical gyrification was only in the left hemisphere. The increased sulcal depth was the left fusiform gyrus. There are no statistically significant differences in the fractal dimension.Correlation analysis revealed the negative correlation between age of onset and cortical thickness in the right precentral gyrus. It also revealed the negative correlation between the age of onset and cortical gyrification in the left inferior parietal gyrus. Also, there was negative correlation between VIQ and cortical gyrification in the left supramarginal gyrus of BECTS patients.Conclusions: This study reveals aberrant cortical thickness, cortical gyrification, and sulcal depth of BECTS in areas related to cognitive functions including language, attention and memory, and the correlation between some brain regions and VIQ and age of onset, providing a potential marker of early neurodevelopmental disturbance and cognitive dysfunction in BECTS.

Cortical complexity estimation using fractal dimension: A systematic review of the literature on clinical and nonclinical samples

“…Lastly, Z. Li, Zhang, Wang, et al (2020) evaluated FD in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) but did not observe significant differences in FD between patients and HC.…”

“…Four of the retrieved studies evaluated FD in patients with epilepsy (Cook et al, 1995; Free et al, 1996; Z. Li, Zhang, Wang, et al, 2020; Lin et al, 2007). Cook et al (1995) estimated the 2D FD of the GM–WM boundary in patients with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), observing that 9 out of 16 patients with FLE had abnormal FD values, while none of the patients with TLE had abnormal FD values.…”

Social cognition in children and adolescents with epilepsy: A meta-analysis

“…Although the other 4 studies did not explicitly limit IQ scores in the exclusion/inclusion criteria, the mean IQ scores of the samples were significantly >70 ( 23 , 28 , 29 , 45 ). The other two included children with benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) ( 25 , 44 ), who usually exhibited normal intelligence ( 58 – 60 ). The remaining 1 study limited samples to individuals with an IQ score >60, and of the 56 patients included, 6 were in the range of 60 to 69 and the others ≥70 ( 46 ).…”

“…The remaining 1 study limited samples to individuals with an IQ score >60, and of the 56 patients included, 6 were in the range of 60 to 69 and the others ≥70 ( 46 ). Considering that the IQ of the included sample may impact the results ( 60 ), subgroup analysis were conducted to examine social cognition deficits in samples with an IQ score >70.…”

Disrupted functional connectivity patterns of the left inferior frontal gyrus subregions in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes

“…However, the study results are not consistent. Considering the influence of duration, antiepileptic drugs and the range of patients' age, Li et al showed extensive cortical thinning in bilateral frontal, temporal regions, and limbic system, increased cortical gyrification in the left hemisphere and partial right hemisphere, and the decreased cortical gyrification in the left hemisphere, and increased sulcal depth in the left fusiform gyrus in drug-naive BECTS patients (12). On the other hand, negative correlation between age of onset and cortical thickness in the right precentral gyrus, cortical gyrification in the left inferior parietal gyrus, and negative correlation between VIQ and cortical gyrification in the left supramarginal gyrus have also been revealed.…”