Comparison of topological properties of functional brain networks with graph theory in temporal lobe epilepsy with different duration of disease

Background: Our study was performed to measure the alterations in topological properties of the functional brain network of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) at different durations, exploring the potential progression and neuropathophysiological mechanisms of TLE. Methods: Fifty-eight subjects, including 17 TLE patients with a disease duration of <= 5 years (TLE-SD), 20 TLE patients with a disease duration of >5 years (TLE-LD), and 21 healthy controls firstly underwent the Attention Network Test (ANT) to assess the alertness function and received the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Next, a functional brain network was set up, and then the related graph of theoretical network analysis was conducted. Finally, the correlation between network property and the neuropsychological score was analyzed. Results: The global and local efficiencies of functional brain networks in TLE-SD patients significantly decreased and tended toward random alterations. Also, the degree centrality (DC) and nodal efficiency (Ne) in right medial pre-frontal thalamus (mPFtha) and right rostral temporal thalamus (rTtha) of TLESD patients significantly reduced. Further analysis showed that alertness was positively associated with the characteristic path length but negatively related to the global and local efficiencies in TLE-SD patients; alertness was negatively related to the Ne of mPFtha in TLE-LD patients. Conclusions: Our study showed that the functional brain network of TLE patients might undergo compensatory reorganization as the disease progresses, which provides useful insights into the progression and mechanism of TLE.