25516399

PMC4340750

Objective

Functional connectivity (FC) among language regions is decreased in adults with epilepsy compared to controls, but less is known about FC in children with epilepsy. We sought to determine if language FC is reduced in pediatric epilepsy, and examined clinical factors that associate with language FC in this population.

Methods

We assessed FC during an age-adjusted language task in children with left-hemisphere focal epilepsy (n=19) compared to controls (n=19). Time series data were extracted for three left ROIs and their right homologues: inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and Wernicke's area (WA) using SPM8. Associations between FC and factors such as cognitive performance, language dominance, and epilepsy duration were assessed.

Results

Children with epilepsy showed decreased interhemispheric connectivity compared to controls, particularly between core left language regions (IFG, WA) and their right hemisphere homologues, as well as decreased intrahemispheric right frontal FC. Increased intrahemispheric FC between left IFG and left WA was a positive predictor of language skills overall, and naming ability in particular. FC of language areas was not affected by language dominance, as the effects remained when only examining study participants with left language dominance. Overall FC did not differ according to duration of epilepsy or age of onset.

Significance

FC during a language task is reduced in children, similar to findings in adults. In specific, children with left focal epilepsy demonstrated decreased interhemispheric FC in temporal and frontal language connections and decreased intrahemispheric right frontal FC. These differences were present near the onset of epilepsy. Greater FC between left language centers is related to better language ability. Our results highlight that connectivity of language areas has a developmental pattern and is related to cognitive ability.

CDC Public Access

1P30HD40677-01/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States
1R21MH092615/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
1UO1DP003255/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United States
2K12NS052159-06A1/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States
5K23MH086111/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
5K23NS065121-01A2/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States
5T32HD046388-08/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States
K23 MH086111/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
K23 NS065121/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States
M01 RR020359/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United States
MH084961/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States
P30 HD040677/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States
R01 NS044280/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States
R01MH084961/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States