Uncinate fasciculus connectivity in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: A preliminary diffusion tensor tractography study

White matter diffusion abnormalities in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures

“…In the study by Ding et al (2013), analysis of resting state fMRI and DTI data using a graph theory approach demonstrated differences in the topological organization of the brain between patients with PNES and healthy controls indicating the possibility that abnormal structural connectivity may underlie PNES (Ding et al, 2013). A recent study by Hernando et al (2015) used diffusion tensor tractography to examine connectivity of the uncinate fasciculus (UF), a white matter tract connecting the limbic regions of the amygdala and hippocampus with the prefrontal cortex, and found that increasing age of PNES onset was associated with more leftward asymmetry of FA for the UF.…”

“…Unlike Hernando et al (2015) which focused on one specific white matter tract, we utilized a whole-brain approach to examine differences in overall white matter integrity between patients with PNES and HCs. Our approach also differs from the study by Ding et al (2013), which used structural and functional connectivity methods; instead, we use direct measurements of tract integrity that require less assumptions to characterize white matter abnormalities.…”

“…Our approach also differs from the study by Ding et al (2013), which used structural and functional connectivity methods; instead, we use direct measurements of tract integrity that require less assumptions to characterize white matter abnormalities. We hypothesized that abnormalities in the structures supporting emotional processing, e.g., the UF may be observed in PNES (Hernando et al, 2015).…”

Biological underpinnings of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: directions for future research

“…Abnormal connectivity in patients with PNES may provide a neurophysiological correlate for the underlying dissociation mechanisms, allowing emotion to influence executive control and resulting in altered motor function (i.e., seizure-like episodes) [15]. Although recent imaging studies of the pathophysiology of PNES have included only small numbers of patients, even these small populations have shown statistically significant deviations compared to healthy controls [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Many of these studies reproduced similar findings.…”

“…However, recent evidences, including advanced EEG and imaging techniques, reveal that patients have specific neurobiological dysfunctions, specifically functional and structural brain connectivity abnormalities [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. For example, functional imaging studies have shown evidence of altered functional and structural connectivity of brain networks in patients with PNES [20].…”