Focal epilepsy caused by single cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) is associated with regional and global resting state functional connectivity (FC) disruption

Epilepsy, including the type with focal onset, is increasingly viewed as a disorder of the brain network. Here we employed the functional connectivity (FC) metrics estimated from the resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) to investigate the changes of brain network associated with focal epilepsy caused by single cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM). Eight CCM subjects and 21 age and gender matched controls were enrolled in the study. Seven of 8 CCM subjects underwent surgical resection of the CCM and became seizure free and 4 of the surgical subjects underwent a repeat rsfMRI study. We showed that there was both regional and global disruption of the FC values among the CCM subjects including decreased in homotopic FC (HFC) and global FC (GFC) in the regions of interest (ROIs) where the CCMs were located. There was also the disruption of the default mode network (DMN) especially the FC between the middle prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and the right lateral parietal cortex (LPR) among these individuals. We observed the trend of alleviation of these disruptions after the individual has become seizure free from the surgical resection of the CCM. Using a voxel-based approach, we found the disruption of the HFC and GFC in the brain tissue immediately adjacent to the CCM and the severity of the disruption appeared inversely proportional to the distance of the brain tissue to the lesion. Our findings confirm the disruption of normal brain networks from focal epilepsy, a process that may be reversible with successful surgical treatments rendering patients seizure free. Some voxel-based metrics may help identify the epileptogenic zone and guide the surgical resection.