Biomarkers For Cognitive Network Evaluation In Children With Self-Limited Epilepsy With Centrotemporal Spikes (selects):

Objective: To investigate the cognitive network in children with self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (SeLECTS) with EEG and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Methods: A comparative study was designed: Group 1 (n=26): patients with SeLECTS, and Group 2 (n=24): age-matched healthy subjects. Sleep EEG recording and DTI parameters (fractional anisotropy (FA), median diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD)) were analyzed. Cognitive and behavioral assessment was performed with the following tests: the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV), the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), the Bender-Visual-Motor-Gestault Test (BVMG), and the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity-Disorder (ADHD) Scale. Results: When compared to age-matched controls, the SeLECTS group showed significantly lower FA values of the superior longitudinal fasciculus (p=0.03) and arcuate fasciculus (p=0.01) of the right hemisphere, which was associated with lower WISC-IV full-scale scores (p=0.04). There was also a statistically significant correlation between spike-wave percentage on sleep EEG and WISC-IV full scale scores (p=0.049) in children with SeLECTs. The BVMG test revealed statistical significance for the SeLECTS group in the integration, distortion, and perseveration areas (p=0.043; 0.001; 0.003). However, there were no significant differences between the groups for ADHD scores. Conclusion: Children with SeLECTS exhibited disease-specific cortical networks, which might be related to EEG connectivity and microstructural tract abnormalities in the brain detected by DTI. More brain connectivity studies are needed to study any closer correlation that may occur with EEG and DTI markers in children with SeLECTS and neurocognitive outcomes.