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• Clinical Article •
Morphological remodeling of individual structural covariance networks in patients with self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes
ZHOU Tian  ZHAO Xin  SHEN Yanyong  ZHANG Penghua  XU Wuzi  DING Tan  FU Yiwei  LU Lin  ZHANG Xiaoan 

DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.11.008.


[Abstract] Objective To systematically explore the structural remodeling characteristics of the brain in patients with self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (SeLECTS) based on individual cortical thickness and surface area structural covariance networks.Materials and Methods A prospective study was conducted from October 2021 to October 2023, collecting data from 46 children diagnosed with SeLECTS based on clinical presentation and electroencephalogram at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, along with 46 healthy controls matched for age and gender. All participants underwent 3D-T1-weighted structural MRI scans, and morphological measures (cortical thickness and brain surface area) were obtained through data preprocessing using Freesurfer software. Individual structural covariance network differences were analyzed using the network template perturbation method.Results SeLECTS patients showed significant covariance enhancement in both cortical thickness and surface area structural covariance networks (Pcorrected < 0.05, FWE correction). The thickness covariance network was characterized by widespread interhemispheric synchrony enhancement (Pcorrected < 0.001) and local modular enhancement in the parietal-central region (Pcorrected = 0.005). The surface area covariance network highlighted coordinated enhancement along the limbic-motor-sensory integration pathway (Pcorrected = 0.002) and short-range covariance enhancement in the cingulate and the pars opercularis (Pcorrected = 0.033).Conclusions SeLECTS patients exhibited covariance enhancement across multiple brain regions in both cortical thickness and surface area-based structural covariance networks. These findings provide new neuroimaging evidence for understanding the network-level pathological mechanisms of SeLECTS and reveal potential intervention targets, laying the foundation for the development of personalized precision treatment strategies.
[Keywords] self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes；magnetic resonance imaging；cortical thickness；cortical surface area；individual structural covariance network

ZHOU Tian1, 2, 3   ZHAO Xin1, 2, 3   SHEN Yanyong4   ZHANG Penghua1, 2, 3   XU Wuzi1, 2, 3   DING Tan1, 2, 3   FU Yiwei1, 2, 3   LU Lin1, 2, 3   ZHANG Xiaoan1, 2, 3*  

1 Department of Medical Imaging, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China

2 Henan International Joint Laboratory of Neuroimaging, Zhengzhou 450052, China

3 Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Pediatric Neuroimaging Medicine, Zhengzhou 450052, China

4 Department of Medical Imaging, the First People's Hospital of Xiangyang, Xiangyang 441001, China

Corresponding author: ZHANG X A, E-mail: zxa@zzu.edu.cn

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-08-11
Accepted  2025-10-12
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.11.008
DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2025.11.008.

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