Brain Connectivity in Epilepsy Using MEG

Fig. 1

Conventional MEG technique for source localization of interictal spike (left panel) and challengeable approach combining functional and effective connectivity (right panel) in epilepsy using MEG

Of course, since structural connectivity referring to a set of anatomical connections liking neural elements (for instance, from DTI) would provide structural information (Engel et al. 2013), combining structural connectivity and brain connectivity derived from MEG will enhance our understanding of fundamental mechanisms of epilepsy and greatly help in determining the epileptogenic zone using a multi-modal prognostic tool from a connectomics perspective.

4 Conclusion

The conventional source localization technique has been a large part of the clinical application of MEG in epilepsy; however, recent advances in connectivity research with MEG will open a new era in terms of how the epileptogenic focus can interact with other regions from the perspectives of functional and effective connectivity. One of the benefits of using MEG in brain connectivity is that frequency dependent connectivity can be pursued, which is the greatest advantage of the electrophysiological approach using MEG. In summary, brain connectivity studies in epilepsy using MEG have been growing, which are expected to provide a better understanding of the epileptic brain. These studies will eventually contribute to develop the electrophysiological biomarkers of epilepsy in the near future.

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