The influence of wakefulness fluctuations on brain networks involved in centrotemporal spike occurrence.

Objective: Drowsiness has been implicated in the modulation of centro-temporal spikes (CTS) in Self-limited epilepsy with Centro-Temporal Spikes (SeLECTS). Here, we explore this relationship and whether fluctuations in wakefulness influence the brain networks involved in CTS generation.

Methods: Functional MRI (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) was simultaneously acquired in 25 SeLECTS.

Peaglet: A user-friendly probabilistic Kernel density estimation of intracranial cortical and subcortical stimulation sites.

Background: Data on human brain function obtained with direct electrical stimulation (DES) in neurosurgical patients have been recently integrated and combined with modern neuroimaging techniques, allowing a connectome-based approach fed by intraoperative DES data. Within this framework is crucial to develop reliable methods for spatial localization of DES-derived information to be integrated within the neuroimaging workflow.

New Method: To this aim, we applied the Kernel Density Estimation for modelling the distribution of DES sites from different patients into the MNI space.

Maturation-dependent changes in cortical and thalamic activity during sleep slow waves: Insights from a combined EEG-fMRI study.

Introduction: Studies using scalp EEG have shown that slow waves (0.5-4 Hz), the most prominent hallmark of NREM sleep, undergo relevant changes from childhood to adulthood, mirroring brain structural modifications and the acquisition of cognitive skills. Here we used simultaneous EEG-fMRI to investigate the cortical and subcortical correlates of slow waves in school-age children and determine their relative developmental changes.

Exploring the relationship between amygdala subnuclei volumes and cognitive performance in left-lateralized temporal lobe epilepsy with and without hippocampal sclerosis.

Cognitive disruption is a debilitating comorbidity in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE). Despite recent advances, the amygdala is often neglected in studies that explore cognition in TLE. Amygdala subnuclei are differently engaged in TLE with hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS) compared to non-lesional TLE (TLE-MRIneg), with predominant atrophy in the first and increased volume in the latter.

Impact of an optimized epilepsy surgery imaging protocol for focal epilepsy: A monocentric prospective study.

Objective: To evaluate in a real clinical scenario the impact of the ILAE-recommended "Harmonized neuroimaging of epilepsy structural sequences"- HARNESS protocol in patients affected by focal epilepsy.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled focal epilepsy patients who underwent a structural brain MRI between 2020 and 2021 at Modena University Hospital. For all patients, MRIs were: (a) acquired according to the HARNESS-MRI protocol (H-MRI); (b) reviewed by the same neuroradiology team.