AUTHOR=Marcantoni Ilaria , Piccolantonio Giusi , Ghoushi Mojgan , Valenti Marco , Reversi Luca , Mariotti Francesco , Foschi Nicoletta , Lattanzi Simona , Burattini Laura , Fabri Mara , Polonara Gabriele TITLE=Interhemispheric functional connectivity: an fMRI study in callosotomized patients JOURNAL=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience VOLUME=18 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1363098 DOI=10.3389/fnhum.2024.1363098 ISSN=1662-5161 ABSTRACT=Introduction

Functional connectivity (FC) is defined in terms of temporal correlations between physiological signals, which mainly depend upon structural (axonal) connectivity; it is commonly studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Interhemispheric FC appears mostly supported by the corpus callosum (CC), although several studies investigating this aspect have not provided conclusive evidence. In this context, patients in whom the CC was resected for therapeutic reasons (split-brain patients) provide a unique opportunity for research into this issue. The present study was aimed at investigating with resting-state fMRI the interhemispheric FC in six epileptic patients who have undergone surgical resection of the CC.

Methods

The analysis was performed using fMRI of the Brain Software Library; the evaluation of interhemispheric FC and the recognition of the resting-state networks (RSNs) were performed using probabilistic independent component analysis.

Results

Generally, bilateral brain activation was often observed in primary sensory RSNs, while in the associative areas, such as those composing the default mode and fronto-parietal networks, the activation was often unilateral.

Discussion

These results suggest that even in the absence of the CC, some interhemispheric communication is still present. This residual FC might be supported through extra-callosal pathways that are likely subcortical, making it possible for some interhemispheric integration. Further studies are needed to confirm these conclusions.