Florencio Gobellan Rodriguez / Psychology / Faculty Mentor: Crystal Cooper
Epilepsy is a noncommunicable disease of the brain that causes seizures. Most pediatric cases of epilepsy also include psychiatric comorbidities. The aim of this study was to use Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to characterize resting-state brain activity in pediatric epilepsy, comparing it to typically developing individuals (TD). The final aim was to characterize the connectivity patterns in patients with comorbid epilepsy and depression. We assessed 37 adolescents (13 with epilepsy; 24 controls; aged 10–19; 16 females) using 10-minute fMRI scans with eyes open, alongside PHQ-9 assessment for depression. Compared to TD, people with epilepsy (PWE) showed higher connectivity between the DMN (mPFC) and SN (rostral PFC) and CEN (parietal ROIs). PWEdep- had increased connectivity between the DMN and SN compared to TDdep-. In contrast, PWEdep+ showed reduced connectivity between the SN and other networks, particularly influenced by PFC connections, compared to PWEdep-. Relative to TDdep+, PWEdep+ had lower SN-DMN and CEN connectivity, driven by cingulate and posterior regions. TDdep+ exhibited lower SN connectivity but higher DMN-CEN connectivity than TDdep-. These findings suggest depression influences network disruptions in epilepsy. Further research is needed to identify network markers for targeted mental health interventions in adolescents with epilepsy.
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