Brain morphometry: Epilepsy

Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is essential in the presurgical investigation of patients with epilepsy because of its unmatched ability in visualizing structural brain pathology. In many cases, however, best-practice MRI is unremarkable and thus unable to reveal the potential surgical target. This chapter considers the application of advanced imaging techniques in temporal lobe epilepsy and neocortical epilepsy and discusses various techniques, such as MRI morphometry of the mesiotemporal lobe structures and the neocortex, hippocampal shape analysis, and computational modeling of epileptogenic lesions. By revealing subtle lesions that escape visual inspection, image processing of structural MRI demonstrates increased sensitivity compared to conventional techniques. Aside from diagnostics, ongoing developments provide unprecedented opportunities for the design of new biomarkers to stage and monitor the disease.