Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (Jan 2022)

Alterations in Neural Networks During Working Memory Encoding Related to Cognitive Impairment in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

  • Liping Pan,
  • Yakun Wu,
  • Yakun Wu,
  • Jie Bao,
  • Dandan Guo,
  • Xin Zhang,
  • Jiajing Wang,
  • Meili Deng,
  • Peiran Yu,
  • Gaoxu Wei,
  • Lulin Zhang,
  • Lulin Zhang,
  • Xiao Qin,
  • Yijun Song,
  • Yijun Song

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.770678
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15

Abstract

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Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate the alterations in the neural networks of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) during working memory (WM) encoding.Methods: Patients with TLE (n = 52) and healthy volunteers (n = 35) completed a WM task, during which 34-channel electroencephalogram signals were recorded. The neural networks during WM encoding were calculated in TLE patients with (TLE-WM) and without (TLE-N) WM deficits.Results: Functional connectivity strength decreased, and the theta network was altered in the TLE-WM group, although no significant differences in clinical features were observed between the TLE-N and TLE-WM groups.Conclusions: Not all patients with TLE present with cognitive impairments and alterations in the theta network were identified in TLE patients with functional cognitive deficits.Significance: The theta network may represent a sensitive measure of cognitive impairment and could predict cognitive outcomes among patients with TLE.

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