Disrupted activity flow during declarative memory states in pharmaco-resistant epilepsy

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre 

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) are the two most common pharmaco-resistant epilepsies, both associated with significant yet distinct declarative memory deficits (Elger, 2002; Helmstaedter, 2002). TLE patients exhibit marked episodic and mild semantic memory difficulties (Barrett-Jones, 2022; Helmstaedter, 2002), while FLE patients may present with mild declarative memory impairment together with difficulties in semantic and overall language-related processes (Caciagli, 2023; Della Rocchetta, 1993). Functional imaging indicates differential patterns of activation and connectivity in the medial temporal and fronto-limbic networks in TLE and FLE, respectively. Yet, activation and connectivity differences have rarely been studied in the same analysis and have not been systematically assessed across these syndromes. Here, we used activity flow mapping (AFM;Cole, 2016) to explore the synergy between intrinsic connectivity and functional activation patterns during declarative states. We also assessed how local disruptions due to lesions relate to cognitive alterations.