MRI-Guided Electrode Implantation for Chronic Intracerebral Recordings in a Rat Model of Post-Traumatic Epilepsy-Challenges and Gains

Brain atrophy induced by traumatic brain injury (TBI) progresses in parallel with epileptogenesis over time, and thus accurate placement of intracerebral electrodes to monitor seizure initiation and spread at the chronic postinjury phase is challenging. We evaluated in adult male Sprague Dawley rats whether adjusting atlas-based electrode coordinates on the basis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) increases electrode placement accuracy and the effect of chronic electrode implantations on TBI-induced brain atrophy. One group of rats (EEG cohort) was implanted with two intracortical (anterior and posterior) and a hippocampal electrode right after TBI to target coordinates calculated using a rat brain atlas. Another group (MRI cohort) was implanted with the same electrodes, but using T2-weighted MRI to adjust the planned atlas-based 3D coordinates of each electrode. Histological analysis revealed that the anterior cortical electrode was in the cortex in 83% (25% in targeted layer V) of the EEG cohort and 76% (31%) of the MRI cohort. The posterior cortical electrode was in the cortex in 40% of the EEG cohort and 60% of the MRI cohort. Without MRI-guided adjustment of electrode tip coordinates, 58% of the posterior cortical electrodes in the MRI cohort will be in the lesion cavity, as revealed by simulated electrode placement on histological images. The hippocampal electrode was accurately placed in 82% of the EEG cohort and 86% of the MRI cohort. Misplacement of intracortical electrodes related to their rostral shift due to TBI-induced cortical and hippocampal atrophy and caudal retraction of the brain, and was more severe ipsilaterally than contralaterally (p < 0.001). Total lesion area in cortical subfields targeted by the electrodes (primary somatosensory cortex, visual cortex) was similar between cohorts (p > 0.05). MRI-guided adjustment of coordinates for electrodes improved the success rate of intracortical electrode tip placement nearly to that at the acute postinjury phase (68% vs. 62%), particularly in the posterior brain, which exhibited the most severe postinjury atrophy. Overall, MRI-guided electrode implantation improved the quality and interpretation of the origin of EEG-recorded signals.