Surgical management of pediatric patients with encephalopathy due to electrical status epilepticus during sleep (ESES).

ESES is a developmental epileptic disorder directly responsible for progressive encephalopathy and neurocognitive regression. The natural history, indications for surgical intervention, and predictors for favorable seizure and neuropsychological outcome remain unclear. We performed a retrospective review of children who underwent resective or disconnective surgery for ESES between January 2009 and July 2016 at a large tertiary pediatric center.

Nontask-Related Brain Lateralization Biomarkers in Children: The Asymmetry of Language Areas on Functional Connectivity Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

In this work, we will test the hypothesis that the connectivity of language areas in normal children is asymmetric between the hemispheres. Intrahemispheric region of interest (ROI)-to-ROI connectivity was assessed in 40 normal right-handed children. Asymmetries were assessed (1) between the hemispheres (global language connectivity); (2) between Brodmann areas (BAs) pairs (pairwise connectivity); and (3) between two homotopic BA (Global BA connectivity).

Atypical language representation in children with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy.

This study evaluated language organization in children with intractable epilepsy caused by temporal lobe focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) alone or dual pathology (temporal lobe FCD and hippocampal sclerosis, HS). We analyzed clinical, neurological, fMRI, neuropsychological, and histopathologic data in 46 pediatric patients with temporal lobe lesions who underwent excisional epilepsy surgery. The frequency of atypical language representation was similar in both groups, but children with dual pathology were more likely to be left-handed.

The diagnostic utility of 3D electroencephalography source imaging in pediatric epilepsy surgery.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of three-dimensional electroencephalography source imaging (3D-ESI) with low-resolution electroencephalographic data in the pediatric noninvasive presurgical evaluation, and to compare the findings with positron emission tomography (PET) and ictal single-photon emission computed tomography (iSPECT).

Methods: We retrospectively selected 60 patients from a database of 594 patients who underwent excisional surgery for drug-resistant epilepsy. Patients were <18 years at time of surgery, had at least one presurgical volumetric brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and at least 1 year of outcome data.

Are hypnosis and dissociation related? New evidence for a connection.

The authors revisit the question of the existence of a relationship between hypnotizability and dissociative capacity. In the present study, the State Scale of Dissociation (SSD) replaced the commonly employed Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) as a measure of dissociation, due to the latter capturing primarily pathological aspects of dissociation. Relationships between the Harvard Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility, Form A (HGSHS:A), the SSD, and the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI) were assessed in the context of hypnosis.

Predictors of seizure-free outcome after epilepsy surgery for pediatric tuberous sclerosis complex.

Purpose: Variable predictors of postsurgical seizure outcome have been reported in children with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). We analyzed a large surgical series of pediatric TSC patients in order to identify prognostic factors crucial for selection of subjects for epilepsy surgery.

Methods: Thirty-three children with TSC who underwent excisional epilepsy surgery at Miami Children's Hospital were retrospectively reviewed.

Early seizure onset and dysplastic lesion extent independently disrupt cognitive networks.

Objective: To determine the most important factors influencing neuropsychological performance in children with intractable epilepsy due to focal cortical dysplasia and the nature of the interaction among significant variables.

Methods: Surgical patients with histologically verified focal cortical dysplasia were retrospectively evaluated to determine the impact of histopathology, extent of lobar involvement, hemispheric laterality, age at onset, and duration of epilepsy on cognitive functioning. A composite neuropsychological variable was obtained by transforming data from 5 major cognitive domains using principal components analysis.

Low-grade focal cortical dysplasia is associated with prenatal and perinatal brain injury.

Purpose: Prenatal and perinatal adverse events are reported to have a pathogenetic role in focal cortical dysplasia (FCD). However, no data are available regarding the prevalence and significance of this association. A cohort of children with significant prenatal and perinatal brain injury and histologically proven mild malformations of cortical development (mMCD) or FCD was analyzed.

Atypical propositional language organization in prenatal and early-acquired temporal lobe lesions.

This study investigated differences in propositional language organization in children with developmental and acquired brain lesions. We evaluated 30 right-handed subjects with intractable epilepsy due to either focal cortical dysplasia or hippocampal sclerosis with neuropsychological testing and functional MRI prior to epilepsy surgery. Atypical activations were seen in both prenatal and early postnatal lesions, but the contribution of specific histopathological substrate was minimal.

Different features of histopathological subtypes of pediatric focal cortical dysplasia.

Objective: Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is the most frequent pathological finding in pediatric epilepsy surgery patients. Several histopathological types of FCD are distinguished. The aim of the study was to define distinctive features of FCD subtypes.