dMRI tractography of WM fibers to recover the anatomical connectivity supporting a MEG epileptic network
Résumé
Cerebral organization is determined by segregated and integrated regions both functionally and anatomically. These cerebral networks are the foundations of the execution of major part of cognitive processes. Information about the structure of the white matter (WM) and the functionality of networks are both needed to understand these cerebral networks [1,2]. This abstract proposes an efficient method to inform a given functional network on its anatomical support: how many anatomical connections exist between functionally connected regions and what their geometries are. Diffusion MRI being the only non invasive method allowing to have access to the micro-structure of the WM [3], we used diffusion information to underline the degree of connectivity between functionally connected regions while taking advantage of WM fibers reconstruction to determine the way taken by the anatomical network supporting the functional network. Due to the complex dynamical alteration of epilepsy, the study of large-scale functional connectivity is difficult . But diffusion imaging studies have shown alterations of the WM between epileptic zones and connected areas [4,5]. This methodology allows to add qualitative (degree of connectivity) and geometrical (WM fibers reconstruction) information on the anatomical network supporting an epileptic network mostly determined by magneto-encephalography (MEG).