AUTHOR=Pan Liping , Wu Yakun , Bao Jie , Guo Dandan , Zhang Xin , Wang Jiajing , Deng Meili , Yu Peiran , Wei Gaoxu , Zhang Lulin , Qin Xiao , Song Yijun 

TITLE=Alterations in Neural Networks During Working Memory Encoding Related to Cognitive Impairment in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2021.770678

DOI=10.3389/fnhum.2021.770678

ISSN=1662-5161

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objective:</bold> The aim of the current study was to investigate the alterations in the neural networks of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) during working memory (WM) encoding.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Patients with TLE (<italic>n</italic> = 52) and healthy volunteers (<italic>n</italic> = 35) completed a WM task, during which 34-channel electroencephalogram signals were recorded. The neural networks during WM encoding were calculated in TLE patients with (TLE-WM) and without (TLE-N) WM deficits.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Functional connectivity strength decreased, and the theta network was altered in the TLE-WM group, although no significant differences in clinical features were observed between the TLE-N and TLE-WM groups.</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> Not all patients with TLE present with cognitive impairments and alterations in the theta network were identified in TLE patients with functional cognitive deficits.</p><p><bold>Significance:</bold> The theta network may represent a sensitive measure of cognitive impairment and could predict cognitive outcomes among patients with TLE.</p>