Abnormal cerebral blood flow and functional connectivity changes in patients with MRI-negative focal epilepsy

Motivation: The cerebral blood flow (CBF) related neuropathology of magnetic resonance imaging negative focal epilepsy (FEP-MRI-) remains poorly understood. Goal(s): To investigate changes in CBF and functional connectivity (FC) in focal epilepsy (FEP) patients. Approach: CBF were compared between FEP patients and healthy controls (HCs). Brain regions with significant inter-group differences in the CBF analysis served as seeds for the FC analysis. We also examined the association between abnormal CBF and FC values and clinical features. Results: This study revealed abnormal blood flow and changes of FC in specific brain regions in patients with FEP compared with HCs. Impact: This study found that brain regions exhibiting abnormal blood flow in epilepsy patients also undergo functional alterations, providing valuable insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of focal epilepsy from the perspective of neurovascular integration.