High b-value diffusion tractography: Abnormal axonal network organization associated with medication-refractory epilepsy

Gleichgerrcht, Ezequiel, Keller, Simon S ORCID: 0000-0001-5247-9795, Bryant, Lorna, Moss, Hunter, Kellermann, Tanja S, Biswas, Shubhabrata, Marson, Anthony G ORCID: 0000-0002-6861-8806, Wilmskoetter, Janina, Jensen, Jens H and Bonilha, Leonardo (2022) High b-value diffusion tractography: Abnormal axonal network organization associated with medication-refractory epilepsy NEUROIMAGE, 248. 118866-. ISSN 1053-8119, 1095-9572

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Abstract

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) tractography has played a critical role in characterizing patterns of aberrant brain network reorganization among patients with epilepsy. However, the accuracy of dMRI tractography is hampered by the complex biophysical properties of white matter tissue. High b-value diffusion imaging overcomes this limitation by better isolating axonal pathways. In this study, we introduce tractography derived from fiber ball imaging (FBI), a high b-value approach which excludes non-axonal signals, to identify atypical neuronal networks in patients with epilepsy. Specifically, we compared network properties obtained from multiple diffusion tractography approaches (diffusion tensor imaging, diffusion kurtosis imaging, FBI) in order to assess the pathophysiological relevance of network rearrangement in medication-responsive vs. medication-refractory adults with focal epilepsy. We show that drug-resistant epilepsy is associated with increased global network segregation detected by FBI-based tractography. We propose exploring FBI as a clinically feasible alternative to quantify topological changes that could be used to track disease progression and inform on clinical outcomes.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Diffusion, Fiber ball imaging, Focal epilepsy, Magnetic resonance imaging, Tractography
Divisions:	Faculty of Health & Life Sciences Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Systems, Molec & Integrative Biology > Inst. Systems, Molec & Integrative Biology
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	27 May 2022 08:33
Last Modified:	23 May 2026 06:31
DOI:	10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118866
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118866
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3155594
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