Neuroimaging of brain functionality and connectivity in women with temporal lobe epilepsy or schizophrenia

The etiology of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) or schizophrenia (SCZ) is not fully known. Both disorders, as shown in recent studies share similar clinical, neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings which might indicate also similarities in the brain structure and connectivity, as well. Our aim was to investigate brain connectivity matrices of TLE or SCZ patients using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neuropsychological tests (NPT) and to compare the findings with healthy controls (HC). Thirteen women of each group (TLE, SCZ, and HC), thirty nine in total were included in the study. Only patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy were included because of the similarities with schizophrenia patient symptoms. The relationship between the groups was evaluated in terms of sociodemographic data, NPT, fractional anisotropy (FA) and connectivity matrixes. Our results showed that TLE and SCZ patients had similar impairments in cognitive functions. We also found that TLE patients have decreased FA in the genu of the corpus callosum (CC) which are related to cognitive and executive functions. Differences in the pathways associated with the temporal and frontal lobe and the limbic system were also observed like arcuate fasciculus (AF) and cingulum (CI).This study may improve our understanding of the effects of TLE and SCZ diseases based on brain connectivity and related cognitive functions. Connectivity matrices may help us better understand neurological and psychiatric diseases that have not yet caused structural change, better interpret their symptoms and identify more accurate treatment approaches. Keywords: Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Schizophrenia, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Connectivity Matrix, Neuropsychological Tests.