Widespread inter-ictal excitability changes in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy: A TMS/MEG study
Abstract
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used to elucidate the altered balance between excitatory and inhibitory circuits in the motor cortex in epilepsy; however, TMS could not well assess excitability changes beyond the motor cortex. This study aimed to address the spatial profile of cortical excitability changes in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) by using TMS and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Eighteen patients with TLE and 18 healthy control subjects were recruited. Resting motor threshold (RMT) and intracortical inhibition (ICI) were measured to reflect motor cortical excitability by using TMS. A whole-head MEG was applied to record auditory and somatosensory evoked responses to paired-pulse stimuli. A paired-pulse inhibition (PPI) ratio, defined as the amplitude ratio between responses to the second and the first stimuli, was used to assess the auditory and somatosensory cortical excitability. A high PPI ratio suggests an increase in cortical excitability, while a low ratio indicates a decrease in excitability. Compared to control subjects, TLE patients exhibited increased RMT in motor cortex and higher PPI ratios for auditory P50m and somatosensory P35m responses. Notably, patients with a lower seizure ...Continue Reading
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